The Union
by BlueStar29
Summary: The innocent Prince of Japan, Yugi, and the promiscuous Prince of Egypt, Atem are to be married in three months. Will Yugi be able to withstand Atem's constant seductions for that long?
1. Two Princes

_Hello, people. This is a story that's been in my head for a while. I think I told you about it, but never go around to actually writting it. Okay, a few things to remember when reading this: do **not** think for ONCE that this is based off of actual history. If everything were based off of actual history, then it wouldn't be called "fiction" now, would it? Therefore, I have a little way of thinking when it comes to history, in my mind. All ancient civilizations know of each other and can communicate with each other through travel. So, that's how someone from Egypt can interract with someone from Japan. Also, I guess I should tell you something now so that you don't get confused while you read. Both Atem and Yugi had to learn each other's languages growing up, since their fathers were friends with each other. So, that's how they understand each other. That should be the biggest question of this story. For refrences to grown up themes, (_but not actually saying them_) I rated this "_T_". Anyhoo, here's the first chapter of this new story that I hope to finish. I'll also be starting another one pretty soon once I get around to typing it._

--

It was the beginning of a beautiful spring morning upon the kingdom of Japan. The youngest son of Emperor Komatsu, Prince Yugi, snuck out of his room in the early morning and climbed upon the roof of the palace in order to see the sunrise. There, he sat, already wearing the chosen royal kimono he would wear for the day. His wild, tri-colored hair was pulled back into a pony-tail (_for lack of a better word_). The last of the moonlight made the silver crown around his head glitter as the sun began to rise. Prince Yugi took in a deep breath.

"I love this time of day." He said to himself. He loved this time of day because it was quiet and calm. He loved to see the morning dew on the grass before he had to start his day. This was the time when he truly relaxed. Suddenly, a happy, little yellow parakeet landed on his shoulder, singing its happy early-morning song. Yugi pet its soft feathers with his finger.

"Good morning, Sornichi; did you sleep well?" The response he received was a happy chirp and flutter of the wings. Yugi chuckled. "Good; I'm glad. I did too." He looked over at the rising sun. The colors in the clear sky were absolutely beautiful. A small breeze blew against his round cheeks. "Father returns today from his trip," His face formed a confused look, "what did he call that place … oh yeah, Egypt." Japan was known for its trading with many different kingdoms from around the world. When Yugi's father had met the Pharaoh of Egypt years ago, they had become fast friends. Every once in a while, Komatsu would take a trip to Egypt, but he would always bring his boys a gift. Usually, Yugi was given a piece of jewelry. Sornichi began to sing again with all the other birds that had woken for the day.

Yugi took in another breath and then stood up and stretched. "Well, I guess I better go meet my brothers for breakfast. The small bird on his shoulder hopped and flapped her wings. Yugi took her into his hands and pet her. "Okay, okay; I'll feed you first." With that, he made his way back into the palace.

After getting Sornichi back into her magnificent cage, Yugi slowly, and reluctantly, made his way down to the kitchen where his brothers were waiting for him. Spending time with his family was not one of Prince Yugi's favorite things to do. For one thing, his three older brothers always ridiculed him because he was not their '_full_' brother. Yugi had a different mother then they did; hence, they gave him the nickname: their '_little runt of a half-brother_'. That nickname really hurt him badly because to Yugi, this told him that his brothers would never truly accept him. As far as his father goes, Yugi did not enjoy his company either because he knew his father expected next to nothing of him. And why would he? Yugi's oldest brother, Chikashi, was next in line for the throne and was always on top of his studies. Then the other two, Norito and Toshio, were very powerful Samurai Warriors. The three were very close to one another. They always stole their father's attention for themselves. And then there was Yugi; left alone in the dark. Yugi was the youngest at the age of fifteen. Chikashi, Norito and Toshio were all a year apart. Chikashi was twenty-three; you can do the math.

As Yugi entered the dinning room, he bowed to his brothers. "Good morning, Brothers." He said before he sat down on the pillow and joined them for breakfast. Chikashi took a ship of his tea and scowled at his youngest brother.

"About time you showed up, Yugi." Yugi did not even reach for the tea once it was set in front of him. He always felt so inferior towards his brothers.

"Why? What's going on?" Norito, the third oldest, looked at the youngest with the same scowl as their oldest brother.

"Don't you know that Father is coming home today?" Yugi felt nervous under their judgmental looks, but he forced himself to stay strong.

"Y-yes … I know that …" No matter how much he tried to sound as if their criticism did not matter to him, they knew that it did. And they heard that stutter in his voice. Toshio smirked.

"What's the matter, Runt? You act as if you're not happy about this news." Yugi flinched at that nickname and frowned.

"Please stop calling me that …" All three of Yugi's older brothers began to laugh loudly at him. Yugi's self-esteem continued to fall. It was already low enough as it was.

"Why, when it's the perfect name for you?" Chikashi replied, laughing. Yugi couldn't take it anymore and quickly left the room. He waited until he was back in his room to let the tears fall from his face. He fell to his knees and just cried his purple eyes out. Sornichi saw that her master was upset and demanded to be let out of her cage in order to sooth him.

Hearing his little friend frantically chirping in her cage, Yugi wiped his eyes and walked over to let her out. Once in his hands, Sornichi nuzzled him as he pet her shiny, yellow feathers. He continued to sob as he pet Sornichi. She chirped, as if to say '_what's wrong?_'

"They'll never accept me, Sornichi … Nothing I do will ever be enough for them …" Sornichi chirped sadly and nuzzled her master again. "Sometimes I wish I could just leave this all behind … explore some place else …" Sornichi let out a small, but loud, annoyed chirp. Yugi laughed. "Of course I'd take you with me." The bird relaxed. Yugi sighed as he went over to his bed. "But I guess that's never going to happen …" The small prince continued to pet his parakeet as this thought went though his mind again.

--

Thousands of miles away, in the scorching desert sands of Egypt, the twenty year old Prince of Egypt, Prince Atem, and his best friend, who was also a member of his father's royal court, Priest Seto, were having a race though a small part of the desert. The hooves of horses could be heard by small neighboring villages around the golden city of Thebes. Both were neck and neck, both horses going as fast as they could. The Prince and the Priest glanced at each other, each with a smirk that told the other that they were going to be the victor.

"I expected more of a challenge out of you, Seto!" Atem said with his voice rose so that his opponent could hear him.

"You want more, I'll give you more!" Seto said as he kicked the horse to make it go faster. Seeing this, Atem did the same. He never once lost a race to his older friend and he was not going to start now. Both were determined to win this race, and neither paid attention to the aggravated looks of the people they left in a trail of dust as they past.

"Remember our bet, Seto!"

"I remember! First one back to the city gates wins!" The two horses began to run even faster, side by side. The doors to the city were close. Atem smirked at the Priest one last time as he pulled ahead just by a hair, which gave him the win. Once the two young adults entered the golden city, their tired horses were given a rest. Atem laughed victoriously.

"I win again, Seto!" The older cringed.

"I'll figure out how you do it someday …" Atem smirked as he hopped off of his horse and walked over to his best friend. He quickly glanced both to the left and to the right to make sure no one was looking before he pulled Seto into a deep kiss.

"Perhaps, but tonight, you're on bottom." He said with a smirk. Seto rolled his eyes before he was pulled into another kiss. He was forced to be Atem's entertainment for the night.

The Prince and the Priest walked into the throne room. Upon entry, Atem rolled his eyes when he saw his father talking to an old friend. He knew that this man was the Emperor of Japan, but it was still a pain to have a, somewhat, complete stranger in his house. Fighting his personal feelings, the Prince put on a smile and walked towards the two rulers.

Pharaoh Aknumkanon and Emperor Komatsu were talking about something and laughing at each other's jokes. They stopped talking to each other when Atem approached.

"Ah, Atem, my boy; there you are." Out of respect, and constant reminders from his father, Atem bowed to the Emperor of Japan.

"Hello, Father; greetings, Emperor Komatsu." The Emperor nodded.

"You were right, Aknunmkanon; I'm sure your son will enjoy my gift as well." Atem raised a brow at this sudden statement and looked at his father, demanding that he explain the situation.

"Then it is settled." Without saying anything else, the two kings left the room to toast their decision. Seto stood beside Atem with his arms folded.

"Huh … I wonder what that was all about …" Atem said out loud. Seto just shrugged, as baffled as his friend was.

Later that night, once the Japanese Emperor had left for home, Atem was hitting on some of the harem girls when his father had summoned him. Ever since the age of fifteen, Atem had been known for his promiscuous and troublesome actions around the palace. He had someone different in his bed almost every night. The Pharaoh knew that his son could never truly rule the golden kingdom of Egypt if he refused to grow up. With the help of Komatsu, he would be able to help Atem give up his terrible ways and start to finally act like an adult. The two kings had come up with a plan; Komatsu would present his youngest son as a gift for Atem to marry. In his chambers, all alone under the candlelight, Aknunmkanon smiled to himself. From the way his old friend had described him, Komatsu's youngest son sounded as if he had already passed Atem up in the maturity phase of his life; even though the youngest Prince of Japan was at least four years younger then Egypt's Prince. The Pharaoh hoped that the boy could help Atem grow up. He was brought out of his thoughts by a clear of the throat.

"You wanted to see me, Father?"

"Yes." Atem made himself comfortable in his father's room. "Atem, you're twenty years old now." The Prince rolled his eyes.

"I know you didn't call me here to discuss my age." The Pharaoh sighed.

"My son, I let you live out your teenage years with little question towards your actions," Atem nodded, his arms still folded, "however, I can not allow this lifestyle of yours to continue." This alerted Atem's attention.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you need to learn some discipline if you ever plan to become the next Pharaoh."

"I have plenty of discipline! Ask Shimon! I passed all of my lessons with flying colors!" Atem's voice continued to rise. Aknunmkanon raised his hand, signaling for Atem to lower his voice.

"And I am very proud of you for all that you have learned, but your actions and your attitude need some adjustments." He paused and sighed. "Therefore, I stand by the decision that I have made." Atem's eye began to twitch.

"And what decision is that?"

" … That you will marry." The prince's eyes widened.

"MARRY?!" The Pharaoh nodded.

"To one of Komatsu's sons." At this point, Atem was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"You're forcing me to marry?! And to a **boy** no less!"

"He will teach you how to be mature; and you will respect him as your husband." Atem's jaw dropped. He stood there with his mouth hanging open, probably due to the shock of finding out that his father had him engaged to a boy from a foreign land.

"The ceremony is in three months. He will be here next month and then you will go and visit him for a month before he begins his life here." Then Aknunmkanon left his son in the shocked stated that he was in.

After his meeting with his father, Atem sluggishly made his way back to his room, where his cousin was waiting for him in his bed.

"You look as if someone just hit you in the face with a boulder." Atem looked up. Seto was lying in Atem's bed; the only thing covering Seto was the blanket. His arms were behind his head, looking as if he had been waiting for the younger for a while. Atem sighed and stripped.

"My father told me that he wants me to marry Komatsu's youngest son in three months." He climbed into bed and began to suck on Seto's neck.

"So he finally told you, hmm?" Atem paused in his actions and looked at his cousin straight in the eye.

"You knew about this?"

"Are you kidding? He told all of us his plan about a month ago; and it was a real pain to keep it from you." Atem's ruby eyes filled with a fire of anger.

"How could you let him do this to me?! Didn't you even fight for my freedom?!" He was kneeling over Seto, clutching his fists while the priest was lying down. Seto smirked.

"That's your problem, not mine." Suddenly, he grabbed the prince by the shoulders and pushed him down onto the pillows. After recovering from Seto's actions, Atem smirked, completely forgetting about his predicament.

"Did you forget that you lost our race today?" Seto shrugged with a smirk of his own.

"If you weren't going to being, then I had to **something**." Atem laughed and kissed him. After pulling away, Seto said something he probably should not have.

"Besides, I wouldn't worry about it; from what we here, you two are so different, the union probably won't even last." This was a hit to Atem's own pride at being the piece of '_eye candy_', that he was.

"What are you saying?" He asked suspiciously.

"Well, we hear that the kid's too innocent and smart fall for anything you might try on him, and you're … well, you're you." Atem's fists went to his hips.

"Are you saying that I can't seduce this kid? I'll have you know that I've seduced every girl in my father's harem; not to mention a few guys, Mahad, and you!" Atem's voice was starting to rise and his face was becoming red due to his anger. Seto seemed to be enjoying it.

"Perhaps, but this kid is different. From what I hear, he's very intelligent and can not stand to be touched." Atem smirked again.

"Well, seducing a virgin might actually be fun; fresh meat for a change." They continued their … '_actions_' while they chatted.

"If you can, that is." Seto said, groaning. Atem groaned as well.

"Is that … a challenge?" Seto did not answer. He was too far gone in ecstasy. Soon, they finished, both completely exhausted. Atem recovered first and leaned his chest onto Seto's, but the Priest was the first to speak.

"To answer your earlier question, yes; that was a challenge." Atem smiled sinisterly.

"Then I accept. And I'll do it before our union." Seto scoffed.

"Ha! Fine; but there's no sex until you do." Atem's eyes widened and he instantly stood up.

"WHAT?!"

"You heard me; oh, and you can't pleasure yourself either … that is … unless you don't think you can do it." Atem pinched a nerve on Seto's thigh, causing a yelp to immerge from him.

"Of course I can do it! There has not been a person with whom I have encountered that could resist my charm!"

"But are you okay with the no sex part?" Atem was silent for a second. Everyone knew that he was a sex-addict and would get if from anyone who offered.

"… …Yes." Seto flat out laughed at Atem's expense.

"You can't go one night without it; I'd love to see you after two months without it!" Atem growled.

"**THAT'S IT, YOU'RE ON!**"

--

Back in Japan …

"MARRIAGE?!" Yugi yelled when he heard the news. Emperor Komatsu nodded.

"That's right; you will be married to the Prince of Egypt in three months; next month, you will go and visit him, and then he will stay here until the ceremony." Yugi was still in shock.

"B-b-bu-bu-but-but Father! I'm too young to get married!" Komatsu scoffed

"You were old enough to marry when you were ten; I should have done it years ago!" Yugi flinched at hearing this and then he dared to softly ask his next question

"…But … why not Chikashi …?" The Emperor was beginning to lose the short tolerance he held for his youngest son.

"Because Chikashi is to be my heir to the throne and you will live in Egypt after the ceremony." Yugi gasped.

"No, Father you can't do this to me!" That made Komatsu lose what little temper he had. He viciously slapped the boy across his face, causing him to fall to the ground.

"How dare you contradict what I say?! You are a disgrace to me, Yugi! You **will** do as I say and you **will** marry Atem in three months!" Without checking to see if Yugi was alright, the Emperor left. Yugi stayed on the ground for a few more seconds, allowing his mind to absorb what had just happened. The only reason his father agreed for him to marry the Egyptian Prince was to get rid of him. At this thought, tears rolled down his face. Slowly, Yugi stood up and made his way out towards the gardens.

Thoughts came to his mind; in three months, he would not be able to just sit in this indoor garden and lose himself to the wonderful fragrances of the many flowers in the garden. He would never be able to allow Sornichi to fly around this little place ever again. Sighing, he took one last look before Yugi finally left and went to go visit his mother; he figured he only had a few chances left to see her.

--

End Chapter

Preview for Next Chapter: Yugi goes and visits Atem for a month and the two meet for the first time. Atem begins to try to seduce Yugi, but will Yugi fall under his spell like so many before him? Find out!


	2. Yugi meets Atem

_Okay, time for another chapter. I've been working on this one since I uploaded the first chapter. I'll probably start working on the next one right away. I have total access to a computer since the first three hours of my school schedule are one a computer. So, here you go! Also, I've been writting another story in a notebook, but it probably won't be typed for another few weeks. It's that_ 'Star of Light' _story I mentioned a while back. Okay, I'll leave you to your reading!_

_--_

Prince Yugi sighed as he continued to pack his things for his trip to Egypt in order to meet his future fiancé. He tried everything he could over the past week to get his father to change his mind, but there was no hearing of it from Komatsu. To say that Yugi was unhappy would be an understatement; he was downright depressed, and so was his mother. Yugi loved his mother very much. He was very much a '_momma's boy_', even though he hated to admit it out loud, he did admit it to himself. Thinking of all the wonderful times he shared with his mother, he smiled. A tear rolled down his cheek; she was the only person in this entire palace that he was going to miss.

"Well, everything's packed, Sornichi." The tiny bird flapped her wings and whistled. Yugi laughed at Sornichi. The little parakeet always knew how to make his gloomy day bright. There was no way he was taking this trip without her. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Enter." He said, softly. Yugi was not surprised to see that it was his mother.

"Hello, Darling; how are you feeling?" Yugi sighed and sat on his bed.

"The same as I have everyday …" Yugi's mother had a sympathetic look on her face as she went to sit on Yugi's bed and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Oh, Baby; I know you don't want to do this, but who knows, maybe you'll end up liking your fiancé." Yugi scoffed and stood up.

"Doubt it." His mother followed him over to the balcony.

"Yugi, haven't I told you not to judge people before you meet them?! I raised you to be better then those brothers of yours!" Yugi hung his head and nodded. He did not need to be reminded about his brothers.

"I'll never live this down with them …" Yugi's mother grunted.

"Yes, well, your brothers are three of the sickest boys I have ever met. They're spoiled little brats who think they can get everything they want."

"Mother, please! Don't speak so lowly of them! They have such honor and what do I have? … I have nothing, that's what I have …" His mother wrapped her arms around him yet again.

"Do not let their cruel words affect you, Darling. You are an incredible person," she took his face into her hands and forced him to look at her, "and so much more. Someday, people will see that." She gave him a kiss on the forehead, causing her son to smile.

"Thanks, Mom." They held each other for a few seconds. Later that day was when Yugi's trip to Egypt began. He hugged his mother again and did not seem to want to let her go.

"You be sure to tell me everything when you get back, alright, Dear?" Yugi nodded.

"I will, Mother." Letting her go, he looked back at his father and brothers. He knew that the older three boys were trying to keep their snickering down because Komatsu had told them to. The Emperor walked up to Yugi and put his hand on Yugi's shoulder. Yugi visibly flinched at this cold touch.

"I expect you to be on your best behavior; I will ask Atem if you were when you return." He could feel his youngest son quivering under his touch. Yugi swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Yes, Father." Finally, Komatsu let go of Yugi's shoulder. That spot still hurt from the tight grip. He gathered Sornichi's cage and boarded the boat that would take him to meet his fiancé, not even looking back to say good-bye to his brothers. He did catch the look his mother gave his father, silently saying: '_can you at least pretend that you love him?_' As the boat began to part from the tiny island that he called his home, he waved one last time to his mother as she blew him a kiss. A cool breeze blew through Yugi's hair. He sighed.

"Well, Sornichi, we better make the best out of this." Sornichi flapped her wings and whistled in response.

--

In the land of Yugi's destination, Atem lay in his bed, his arms folded beneath his head. His knees were bent with one leg over the other. "I can't believe I have to marry a Japanese Prince … more importantly, I can't believe I only have to wait two months to have sex again!" Atem grunted loudly out of frustration and pounded his fists to his mattress. The kid would be here in less then a week. He turned onto his side. It was only the middle of the day and he was already bored. Usually, if he was bored, he would go to his father's harem and entertain himself with someone, but if he wanted to win this wager, he had to find other ways of amusement for himself. He turned over again … for about two seconds.

"This isn't working!" Atem announced to himself as he dashed out of his room, possibly in search of Seto in order to challenge him to another race. But that failed miserably since Seto was busy studying, something Atem knew very little about. So he made his way down to the throne room instead. At the very least, he could try to appear useful and help his father. Aknunmkanon was in a meeting with his council when Atem came in.

"Yes, was there something you needed, my son?"

"Is there something I could help you with, Father?" Aknunmkanon was taken back. This was the first time that Atem had ever shown any interest in the issues going on in the kingdom. He looked at the council.

"I believe this meeting can be postponed until tomorrow, where we will discuss these topics further." No one was going to disagree with the Pharaoh, so they packed up and left. Once they were alone, Aknunmkanon just had to ask:

"Alright, what do you want?" Atem scoffed with an innocent look in his eyes.

"What? I just needed something to do." The Pharaoh ran his fingers through his beard.

"You have never had any trouble finding things to do before? What's the problem now?" Atem scoffed again and dropped his arms to his sides.

"Well …" he looked at his father's suspicious look and finally cracked, "alright fine; it's this whole engagement thing. My head is spinning with all these different thoughts and scenarios about it and quite frankly, I'm getting a migraine!" The Pharaoh had to cover his mouth with his hand to hide his amused smile.

"Alright … so what is it that you want me to do?"

"Stop this whole thing, please!" Atem was practically begging now. He was very glad that Seto was not in the room right now.

"I'm sorry, Atem, but I can't do that. Everything is already in motion. I think Yugi is on his way here as we speak." Obviously, this was the first time Atem had heard the Prince's name.

"'_Yugi_'? I'm marrying a '_Yugi_'?! What kind of a name is that?!" Aknunmkanon's face changed from humor to a frown. It was sad to see that Atem was still not accepting the union, and what was worse, he was actually putting Yugi down now. Out of rage, Aknunmkanon stood up, surprising Atem.

"You _**WILL**_ respect your new husband and make him feel welcome when he arrives! He will be a guest in our country and you are going to be his host! I EXPECT YOU TO ACT LIKE AN ADULT FOR ONCE AND BE THE BEST HOST HE HAS EVER SEEN! **IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?!**" Atem's eyes widened more then they had ever before and he practically curled up into himself when his father began to shout. He felt like he was ten years old again and getting in trouble for using the Treasure Room as a hiding place for Hide and Seek. The scared Prince of Egypt gulped.

"P-perfectly." The Pharaoh sat back down on the throne.

"Good; now get out of my sight." Atem did not have to be told twice. He speed-walked out of the Throne Room, acting like a dog with its tail between its legs. The old king sighed. "I hope this works …"

--

A few days later, Atem, Aknunmkanon and the Priests were all by the River Nile, waiting for the boat that carried Atem's fiancé. Atem was expecting the worst. He could not get past the thought of having a spoiled, loud-mouth, ugly teenager with a broken-out face for a husband.

"This kid better be worth it …" He mumbled under his breath, but Aknunmkanon still caught it.

"You _will _behave accordingly, Atem. For next month, you will be visiting him." Atem flinched. He had forgotten about that. He sighed and readied himself. He had to be a perfect gentleman to this kid; a '_good host_', as his father called it, just for the next month. He hoped that he could hold up the kindness act for that long. Suddenly, Seto nudged him in the side.

"Don't forget our wager." Atem smirked and winked. Seto knew there was more to that wink then the others knew, but there was no need to voice it.

"Don't worry, I remember." In the distance, the boat could be seen. Soon, it docked and Aknunmkanon ordered a few guards to escort the Prince to shore. Two guards were in front, and then Yugi made his appearance. When Atem laid eyes on him, his ruby eyes widened at the immense beauty that he saw. This kid was not ugly at all, nor was his face broken-out' quite the opposite. Yugi's pale, milky white skin stood out among all the tanned Egyptians. That skin looked so soft and smooth, that Atem could not wait to touch it. And those eyes! Oh, those large, round, beautiful, sparkling jewels could just draw an unsuspecting person in with their beauty and innocence and never let them go. But what was really strange was the fact that the two Princes looked almost exactly alike, hair-wise. In Ra's light, Atem could see that Yugi's hair had more of a purplish hue then red like his. However, he could not tell how long it was since Yugi's hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He noticed that Yugi wore a beautiful ensemble that matched the color of his eyes. It shined in the light. To sum it all up, Atem was very pleased with his fiancé. A smirk made its way across his face. '_This will be easy._' He thought.

Finally, after so long, Yugi took his first step onto the Egyptian shore. It was very hot out, and he began to sweat. He would have to change into something other then his royal kimono soon. He saw the crowd of people and automatically assumed that they were his welcoming party. Pharaoh Aknunmkanon made his way towards Yugi and bowed respectfully at the young Prince. Yugi was surprised that the Pharaoh knew about this greeting, but then reminded himself that this man was a friend of his father's, so he just returned the bow.

"Welcome, Prince Yugi." The Pharaoh spoke in Japanese, causing Yugi to tilt his head in confusion. Throughout his journey, he had been studying his Egyptian and was fully prepared to use it.

"Thank you, Pharaoh. It's nice to finally be here." Yugi said. Only this time, he said it in Egyptian so that everyone could understand him. Atem, Aknunmkanon and the Priests were all surprised. Aknunmkanon had the idea of making Atem learn Japanese, but he had no idea that his old friend would make his sons learn Egyptian as well. After a few moments of silence, Yugi was beginning to think that he had said something wrong. He always over thought things and second guessed himself.

"You speak our language?" The young Prince let out a sigh of relief and smiled.

"Yes; I have been learning your dialect since I was very young." The Egyptians seemed pleased with this answer. He looked past the Pharaoh at the six people with golden objects. "Who are they?"

"Ah, yes; these are the members of my High Court. They are here to help ensure our safe arrival to the palace." Yugi nodded, not quite understanding, but then again not really caring either.

"Thank you for the concern." Yugi was trying to be as polite as possible. Aknunmkanon smiled.

"Well then, I am sure you are eager to meet your reason for being here." The Pharaoh turned towards his son. "Atem, come here." Yugi had not noticed him before due to his nervousness, but when he looked at the person Aknunmkanon was referring to, Yugi gasped. He saw for the first time that his fiancé had a very close likeliness to him. There were a few differences: Atem's hair was wilder, had more blond highlights and looked more red then purple. He was tan, just like everyone else, but with all the golden jewelry that he was wearing, it seemed to make his tan even darker. His eyes were angled in a mysterious yet playful manner. He wore a golden chest plate that covered his torso but Yugi could see the well developed abs of Atem's stomach. It was obvious that the Egyptian Prince worked quite hard. Lastly, he was a bit taller. Even from this distance Yugi could tell that if he were to walk up to Atem, he would still be a head shorter then him. (_Meaning that he's as tall as Atem's neck_) Yugi took another look into Atem's eyes. They were very hypnotic. Yugi felt as if he was under some kind of spell.

"Wow …" He whispered. Atem came up to Yugi with his arms folded and a slight sway in his walk. Everything about this man said '_sex_'. Yugi was going to have to be careful. Atem smiled at him, took Yugi's hand and placed a kiss on it, which caused Yugi to blush beyond reason.

"Pleasure to finally meet you … Yugi." The way Atem said his name very slowly sent panic through Yugi's head. And Atem smiled at this. '_This is going to be __**very**__ easy_.' Yugi pulled his hand back.

"Uh … n-nice to meet you t-too …" Then, the panicked, screeching chirps of his tiny parakeet broke Atem's spell over Yugi. The Japanese Prince turned around to see the guards coming off of the boat with his things, one of them with Sornichi's cage. Yugi gasped and ran to retrieve it.

"Please be very careful! She gets very scared around new people." Yugi snatched Sornichi's cage away from the guard and made sure to calm her down before he returned to the group.

"Who do you have with you there?" The Pharaoh asked.

"Oh, this is my best friend in the whole world, Sornichi. Sornichi, say '_hello_'." The small yellow bird whistled and flapped her wings.

"She is very beautiful." The female Priest, whom Yugi had yet to learn her name, said.

"Thank you." Yugi answered, keeping his head down due to nervousness. His grip on the cage tightened out of reflex. Atem looked at his father.

"Father, should we not get back to the palace? It's scorching out here," He looked back at Yugi and smiled a smile that seemed to hide something behind it, "and I think Yugi might want to change into something a little lighter." Yugi gulped at the tone of Atem's voice.

"Uh … yes … thank you … that … would be … nice …" He had no idea why he was struggling with his words. It could have been the heat or it could have been the way Atem kept looking at him with a predatory smirk on his face. Atem wrapped his arm around his small fiancé's waist and led him towards the palace.

--

Yugi was lead to Atem's chambers, personally by the Egyptian Prince himself. He also gave Yugi an outfit to wear, one that looked exactly like his own. But Yugi kept his hair pulled back and his silver crown on his head. He heard chuckling behind him. Yugi gasped and turned around to see Atem leaning against the doorframe, smirking at him with that gleem in his eye again. Atem swayed his hips once again as he approached his younger fiancé.

"You look beautiful." Now that Yugi was not wearing that thick, long kimono, Atem could see the slender curves of Yugi's body; so petite with a feminine quality, yet he also had a slight masculine build to him. Atem licked his lips in a lustful approval. He was going to get the best of both worlds. Yugi was blushing beyond reason.

"Uh … th-thank you, my Prince." Atem waved his hand.

"Please, call me Atem; after all, we're to be married in two months time"

"Y-yeah, isn't that crazy? I-I can't believe our dads did this to us." Atem slid one hand to his hip while the other supported his weight against the doorframe, still smirking at Yugi.

"I don't think it's crazy at all." Yugi raised a brow. There was something suspicious about this guy and Yugi could see it in those ruby eyes … that were now coming closer to him.

"Y-you don't?" As Atem kept coming forward, Yugi backed away until he was trapped between the wall and the Egyptian Prince. Atem was so close to Yugi's body that he was practically spooning him.

"Not at all," Atem took a whiff of Yugi as he moved his face down towards Yugi's ear, "in fact, I'm quite pleased with this arrangement." He said huskily right before he took a quick lick of Yugi's ear, causing the youngest Japanese Prince shriek out loud, duck under Atem's arm and run behind the older, all the while wiping his ear.

"What are you doing?!" Atem chuckled sinisterly.

"Isn't that obvious?"

"N-no …" The older was advancing again, and this time when Yugi backed away, he fell on top of Atem's bed. After laughing at Yugi's expense for a few seconds, Atem joined him by straddling the younger Prince. Yugi struggled, trying to get Atem off of him, but the Egyptian's weight and strength were greater then his own. "Ugh, get off of me!" Atem laughed again. He was obviously enjoying this. He bent down to Yugi's ear and licked it again, making Yugi yell out in surprise again.

"Make me." He whispered and he sucked on Yugi's ear.

"Gladly …" Yugi struggled again, but with Atem holding his arms above his head, he could only use his hips, which amused Atem even more.

"Little One, you're only making this better for me." Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Both froze in their actions. "_**WHAT**_?!" Atem yelled in fury at being interrupted. The door opened to reveal Seto, his face emotionless. Yugi gasped out loud and blushed, embarrassed to be seen like this. He could hear Atem asking the Priest what he wanted, but before Seto could answer, Yugi kicked Atem in the stomach, causing the Prince to groan loudly and topple over. "OWW! GOOD RA!!" This gave Yugi his chance to escape. Yugi quickly rose to his feet and dashed out of the room as quickly as he could.

Seto watched Yugi as he ran down the hall as fast as he could and then looked back at his groaning and whimpering friend in the room. After Atem recovered, mostly, Seto closed the door.

"You scared him off; looks like I'll finally win one against you." Atem's eyes quickly lost the pained look they held and replaced it with a sinister glimpse as a smirk made its way to his face.

"A minor set back. He'll be mine before you know it." Seto scoffed.

"We'll see." Seto stated before he turned to leave.

"What was it that you had to interrupt me for?" This time, it was Seto's turn to smirk.

"Oh, nothing; I just wanted to see how far he was going to let you get." Atem glared, knowing that there was more to those intentions. Seto deliberately came to Atem's room to ruin the moment.

"So, that's the way you want to play this game, hmm? Well then, so be it!"

--

End of Chapter

**Preview of Next Chapter**: Atem meets Sornichi and then accidently releases her into the city. In guilt, he decides to help Yugi in his search to bring her back, but that doesn't mean that he can't have fun along the way.


	3. The Search for Sornichi

_Sorry that this one is so late. I had a little trouble writing this one. I kept getting bored in the middle of it. I like a bunch of talking scenes, don't know why. Anyway, I think you'll enjoy this one b/c it has a good amount of comedy in it and it's quite long. So I won't ramble this time. Here ya go!_

--

Yugi ran to another hallway as fast as he could. Since he had no idea what room he was staying in, he just ran wherever his legs took him. Soon, he had to stop to catch his breath. "I can't believe he did that to me …" Yugi wiped his ear again, trying to get the remaining feeling of Atem's tongue out of it. "That was so weird!" He had never experienced anything like that before. Suddenly, a hand on his shoulder caused a surprised shriek to emit from his mouth. Yugi spun around to find that it was Aknunmkanon. "Oh, Pharaoh … it's you …" Yugi stated with relief. Aknunmkanon raised a brow at Yugi's strange behavior

"Are you alright, Prince? You act as if you had just been horribly attacked …" Yugi looked at the old king nervously. It was ironic that he would choose those words.

"Well ..." Yugi looked to the floor and found it quite interesting. The safe thing to do would be to tell Atem's father what he had done, but then again, would he believe Yugi if he told him? It was Yugi's word against the son of the Pharaoh. This was a troubling situation.

"Yugi," Said Prince nervously looked up when his name was spoken, "did something happen?" Aknunmkanon's voice was filled with suspicion, as if he had an idea of what really happened. Yugi thought for a while before he finally made his decision.

" … … … No, nothing at all." He forced a fake smile. The Pharaoh smiled back.

"I am pleased to hear that. If nothing is wrong, then I will see you at dinner." As he was about to walk away, Yugi stopped him by grabbing his sleeve.

"Uh, Your Highness,"

"Yes?"

"I-if you don't mind me asking … where am I going to stay?" Aknunmkanon blinked.

"Why, with Atem of course." Yugi's eyes widened and his body stiffened. "Is something wrong, Prince?"

"No … not a … thing …" Yugi slowly turned walked back to Atem's room. When he opened the door and looked around, he was relieved to find out that Atem was not there. He sighed and went over to the bed, making sure to watch his step along the way.

A whistling sound caught his ear. To his right, Sornichi was going wild in her cage. Yugi could tell that she wanted out, and she wanted out now. Yugi went over to let her out of her cage. She rested herself on his finger and nuzzled against his face.

"Are you okay, Sornichi? No one hurt you, did they?" His answer was a loving chirp. Yugi smiled and pet her. He took some seeds from her cage and let her eat them out of his hand. He was really glad to have her here with him.

--

Atem made his way down the hall and into the bathing chamber with Seto right behind him. The Egyptian Prince lowered himself into the steaming water and let out a sigh, trying to relax … until he heard the ever familiar chuckle of Priest Seto. Groaning in annoyance, Atem cracked one eye open while sneering at his friend. The Priest was the first one to speak.

"Tired of the chase? You could give up now and call the whole thing off." Atem laughed in mock amusement.

"HA! And let you have the satisfaction of a defeat? I think not." Seto entered the bath with Atem, knowing how the Prince could not resist such a tempting opportunity. Atem's eyes widened when his friend took his place in the bath. Seto was proudly flaunting himself, trying to make Atem break.

The Prince gulped. This was so tempting, tempting enough to make him a little hard. Atem tried to hide the obvious by crossing one leg over the other.

"What are you doing?" He asked. Seth just shrugged and grabbed a bottle of oil and spread it over his hands.

"I'm cleaning up for dinner, what do you think?" The Priests always ate with the royal family at dinner time. Atem gave the other a non-believing look.

"Trying to tempt me will not work, Seto. I'm set on winning this wager." Atem did his best to keep the fact that Seto's actions indeed were having an effect on him. Seto just continued to smirk.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Atem." He said innocently.

"Of course you don't." Atem sank lower into the bath so that only his eyes and up were above the water. Seto could see right though Atem's act. He knew that Atem was affected like he always was. And to add to Atem's torture, Seto stood up and began to slowly apply the oil to his body. Atem could not resist, no matter how hard he tried. He watched as the Priest continued to scrub himself down. Atem could not take it anymore.

"Gah! You're killing me!" Atem yelled, and with the speed of sound, he rushed out of the bath and away from the scene Seto was making. He did not care that he was still dripping wet and naked as he walked down the hall. Still, he could hear the Priest's mocking laugh as he left.

--

Yugi only had a few minutes to get ready for his first dinner, not to mention his first meal, in Egypt. He was always willing to try new things, but this time, he was a little intimidated. Atem had come off really strong and Yugi had no idea how to react to those advances. Luckily for him, Atem was not in his room. He did not know where the other Prince was, but he knew it would not be long before he came back. He looked over towards Sornichi's cage and found her eating her food. He smiled and began to make himself look, what he hoped was, decent enough to present himself at dinner.

He looked in the mirror and turned his nose up at his reflection. "Yuck …" He said out loud. Looking around, he found himself a hair brush and brushed his hair. In all his wandering around the palace, trying to avoid going back to Atem's room, most of his hair had fallen out of the ponytail that he wore. So he brushed through his hair and put it back up.

After his hair was taken care of, he started to clean his face with a small cloth dipped in water. There was sweat and dirt all over his face. He was not used to sweating so much. The pale white color of his skin returned when he removed the dirt. After cleaning himself with the cloth, he found Atem's assortment of, for lack of a better term, eye makeup. He noticed that Atem's lashes were extensively long and thick. Out of curiosity, he took the tool that was used to apply the black substance and experimentally outlined his right eye with it. After he was finished, Yugi realized that he liked the way it looked on him and did the same with his left eye. "That actually looks good on me." He said. Wow, he had never said that about himself until just now. Something must have come over him. He freshened up his jewelry and went on his way, trying to find his way to the dining room.

It was not too long after he left that Atem stumbled into his room. A few people watched him walk down the hall in nothing but his birthday suit. He did not mind, though. That was nothing new to him or anyone in the Palace. In fact, he rather liked the attention that he received. However, as much as he would like to, he was not allowed to go to dinner in the nude. After being told by his father so many times that it was inappropriate, it was finally drilled into his head that he needed to wear clothing during dinner. But, to defy that rule, and get a rise out of his father, he usually came to dinner without his top or sandals. Atem had to chuckle to himself. Earlier that day, his father had threatened him with castration if he came down to dinner hardly wearing anything. Atem sighed as he went into his majestically huge closet to retrieve a clean tunic.

"Leave it to Father to ruin a perfectly good thing." He said to himself. He felt so uncomfortably confined in the clothing, but that was because he hardly ever wore much. After that, he went over to his accessory table and began to apply the kohl to his eyes. He planned to keep having fun with Yugi and one of the ways of doing that was appearance. If he could not use his body to seduce the younger Prince, then his face would have to do. Seto always told him he was too much of a narcissist for his own good. And ever since Yugi arrived, his vanity had risen several spikes. "Earlier may have set me back a few steps, but this evening will definitely put me back in the race."

After he fixed his hair to make it shine a bit more, he put a type of lip balm on his lips to make them gloss a little bit. After that was applied, the Prince of Egypt stepped back and took a look at himself in the mirror. He gave himself a grin filled with pride. "He won't be able to resist me now."

--

Yugi finally found the dining room after finally giving in to the fact that he was lost and asked for directions. The servant he asked looked at him like he was pathetic. Now, the Japanese Prince stood outside of the entrance to the dining room. He heard voices inside but could not make them out. Yugi was too nervous to face Atem again, but he had to. His father expected him to go through with this union. Taking a deep breath, he finally worked up the courage and entered the dining room.

The room was gigantic. Every inch of the walls were carved with hieroglyphic, golden symbols. Almost all of the furniture in the room was made out of solid gold. There were seven lit torches on each side-wall. In between them were paintings of Pharaohs and Queens from the past, each of them surrounded by golden, jewel encrusted frames. Yugi looked at each painting and spotted Aknunmkanon's portrait on the non-dominate wall behind him, followed by an empty space near the corner. He assumed that that spot was reserved for Atem's portrait when he obtained the crown.

"Wow …" No matter how many times he saw so much gold in one room, he was always awestruck. Yugi then looked at the large table and saw the Priests sitting around it. The Pharaoh was at the head of the table. But Atem was nowhere to be found. This fact alone bothered him. Aknunmkanon spotted Yugi and stood up. The Priests followed his example and they all bowed to the foreign Prince.

"Welcome, Prince Yugi." The Pharaoh said. Yugi smiled and nodded. There were two empty seats next to Aknunmkanon. Yugi assumed that he was meant to sit in one of them. He slowly walked towards it and finally sat down.

"I apologize for my son's tardiness. He is probably still getting ready." Yugi nodded.

"It's fine." Yugi said politely as he sat down. Everyone else sat down after him. "Mmm, smells wonderful." Yugi said as he looked at all the assortments of food that were laid before him on the table.

"You are in for a treat, Prince Yugi; we had our kitchen servants prepare the best food available just for your arrival." Isis said. Yugi blushed.

"Y-you didn't have to …" The Pharaoh smiled at the boy's good manners. He wished that Atem would take a lesson from him in mannerism.

"Of course we did; you are our guest, after all." He answered.

Just then, a sound, like the clearing of the throat, came from the doorway. All of the Priests stood up. Even though Aknunmkanon did not, Yugi thought he should stand up as well, so he did. He turned around and gasped at what he saw. There, in the large doorway, stood Atem. His tanned skin was glowing in the light of the torches. His ruby eyes were outlined with the kohl that Yugi had used earlier, and made those exotic eyes look even more hypnotic then they already did. He was wearing a full tunic, but he had more jewelry on then before. The chest plate that he wore had sapphire and topaz jewels all across it. The golden clasps around his waist were also encrusted with all kinds of jewels; mostly rubies and sapphires. Even though he was forced to wear clothing at meals, Atem's tunic only came down to the middle of his thighs, giving Yugi a good view of Atem's lean, but muscular legs. Yugi had to swallow the lump in his throat. The Egyptian Prince certainly looked the part. Yugi felt so inferior to him.

"Good evening, everyone." Aknunmkanon nodded his head with a look that did not suggest that he was amused.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Son." Atem rolled his eyes and took his seat in between his father and Yugi. He could tell that the Japanese Prince was trying his hardest to stop the blush on his face, but not having much luck. Atem brought his hands up to let his chin rest on them

"So, what are we having?" He asked with a smirk on his face. His elbow purposely rubbed against Yugi's arm. Yugi was quivering a bit. Seto smirked too, taking this time to ruin Atem's seduction plans.

"We are having your favorite: chicken that has been roasted outside. You know, the one you commonly use as your aphrodisiac." This caused the blush on Yugi's face to increase. Atem glared at the Priest and harshly kicked in him in the leg. Seto let out a pained sound. The look of embarrassment on Atem's face was quickly replaced with a smirk.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Seto." To close the subject, Aknunmkanon cleared his throat in a way that told everyone to change the subject. The servants arranged the food on everyone's plates. While The Pharaoh and the Priests were discussing the events leading up to the day of the wedding, Yugi was taking in the beauty of the room that he was in. Atem smirked and took this opportunity to slowly run his foot up Yugi's leg. At this feeling, Yugi gasped and stood up in a flash, knocking his chair over and surprising everyone else in the room. Atem's smirk continued to grow. It was an awkward moment as Yugi looked at all the eyes staring at him as if he had just grown a second head.

"Is there something wrong, Prince?" The Pharaoh asked. Yugi smiled nervously.

"Uh … no, n-nothing …" He nervously took his chair and sat back down. Atem continued to smirk. However, the Pharaoh did not notice his son's behavior.

"Well, as I was saying …" Atem continued his actions under the table. He rubbed his foot up and down Yugi's once again. The smaller Prince was really starting to get agitated now. He gave Atem a small glare and was relieved when the older Prince's foot stopped its assault on his leg. What he did not expect was Atem's hand going up and down his thigh afterwards.

"Stop it..." He mumbled loud enough for everyone else to hear. Atem refused to listen and continued to caress Yugi's thigh. Yugi's mumble gained the attention of the Pharaoh.

"Alright, what's going on? Atem, what are you doing to him?" Atem raised his hands in defense.

"I'm not doing anything!" Yugi rolled his eyes. He would like to tell Aknunmkanon what Atem was doing to him, but Atem was too convincing of an actor. Aknunmkanon looked as if he did not believe Atem, but he let it go and began to eat his dinner. Once he began, everyone else was allowed to start their meals as well. All throughout the meal, Atem kept sneaking glances at his husband-to-be. He noticed the kohl around those sparkling amethyst eyes. The substance made those jewels even more enchanting then they were before. Yugi noticed that Atem was staring at him and gave him a look, clearly asking: '_what are you staring at?_'. Atem's smirk never left his face. He gave Yugi a wink, which made the Japanese Prince blush once again. The rest of the meal went smoothly. Yugi found that he actually found the food of Egypt quite tasty. He was so used to sushi and rice, that he had never even had chicken before. And the way the servants cooked it made the taste even better and made the meat juicier.

"This is fantastic! I've never had this before!"

"I am glad you enjoy it." Aknunmkanon said. Atem nodded.

"Yes, just imagine that within two months, you will be able to eat like this for the rest of your life." Atem's comment caused Yugi's food to lodge in his throat and he choked on it. A servant gave him filled his goblet up with water and Yugi gulped all of it down. Atem found this funny. It took all his willpower to keep his laughter to himself. One of the Priests rushed over and patted Yugi on his back.

"I'm okay, I'm okay."

"Sorry, Yugi. I guess I should have waited to say that until after you were finished." Atem smirked at Yugi with that lustful look in his eyes. And Yugi could see it.

"It's fine." Atem's smirk grew and he ran his foot up Yugi's leg again. The younger Prince could not take it anymore and stood up.

"Since you're done, why don't I give you a tour of the palace? I don't believe you've had one yet." Atem said. It seemed to Yugi as if his personality did a one-eighty.

"That would be a good idea, Atem. But after that, I want you both to get some sleep; you have a big day tomorrow." Aknunmkanon said. Atem nodded and took Yugi's arm before he could say anything.

--

The entire tour took about an hour and a half to complete. Yugi was quiet throughout the walk around the palace. Truthfully, though the royal palace was beyond beautiful, he was thinking more of what Atem would do to him when they were left alone in his room. He decided that he was not going to let Atem intimidate him anymore. He wanted to enjoy this trip.

"So, now we end up back at my room. Come, as Father said, we need to get some sleep." Yugi entered the room and began to undress himself when he felt as if he was being watched. He turned around and found that he was right. Atem was still staring at him with that predatory lust in his eyes.

"Why do you have to stare at me all the time." Atem's smirk grew as he walked toward the younger Prince.

"I'm sorry, was I staring? I apologize because I was lost in those magical portals you call eyes." Atem was now right in front of Yugi's face. Yugi rolled his eyes.

"That was so lame."

"I'm just saying what I feel." He brushed his fingers over Yugi's cheek, loving the feeling of the soft warmth that touched them. He found that Yugi enjoyed the touch as well. His eyes closed in bliss. He could feel the heat of Atem's body radiating off of him. For some strange reason, it felt somewhat comforting to the Japanese Prince. When Yugi's eyes slowly opened, Atem slowly leaned in for soft a kiss. Their faces were only centimeters away from each other when the moment was ruined by a small chirping sound. Yugi snapped out of Atem's trance. He walked over to the cage that had been put by the balcony. Atem growled out of frustration. '_Damn bird!_' He thought.

"Sornichi, are you okay?" Yugi asked, taking her out and petting her yellow feathers. Atem raised a brow, curious as to how Yugi could hold a bird in his hand without the fear of being pecked. He walked over to the two. Yugi saw him approach and turned to show the parakeet to him. "Sornichi, this is Atem. We may be seeing him for a while." He said with a little laugh. The parakeet flapped her wings and chirped loudly.

"It's so small." Yugi smiled and pet her feathers again.

"Parakeets usually are."

"Can I pet her?" Yugi nodded. Atem reached out to touch the small bird, but when he did, she let out a loud screech and bit down on his finger. "OUCH!" Atem screamed, pulling his finger away. Yugi's eyes widened. He had never seen Sornichi act that way before.

"Sornichi, no! Bad girl!" He put the bird back in her cage and went to go check on Atem, who was holding his bleeding finger out in front of him. "Oh no, you're bleeding."

"You think?!"

"Don't be such an ass, or I won't help you." Yugi took Atem's injured finger into his hand. "Come with me, before it gets infected." Yugi took him to Atem's private bathing quarters and retrieved a bowl of water along with a small towel. Gently, and Atem could not believe how gently, Yugi rubbed the towel over the bite mark on Atem's finger. "She sure got you good." Atem nodded.

"Enough to break the skin."

"I'm really sorry about that. She's never bitten anyone before. I don't what came over her." Once the bleeding had stopped, the two went back out to the main room.

"Thank you." Yugi turned around and nodded.

"Your welcome." Atem felt a warm sensation in his heart. Not like anything he had ever felt before. He looked up to see that Yugi had taken the top of his tunic off and that warm feeling was immediately replaced by hot lust. Even when Yugi was taking off his jewelry he was causing Atem to become hard. He looked over Yugi's creamy, smooth shoulders. Two shoulder blades could be seen along with the path of his spine. There was not a mark on him; not a freckle or anything. He was skin was absolutely perfect. Yugi began to take his hair out of the ponytail. Atem was surprised to see that his hair stood up just like his own did, only a little smaller. Yugi turned around and Atem could see that his stomach still held a bit of baby fat. The Egyptian Prince had to brace himself against one of the poles of his bed just to keep standing. There was too much pressure in his lower regions that he did not know how long he would be able to stand being around Yugi and not being able to claim him. He had a lot of energy building up inside of himself. Yugi turned around and raised a brow. Atem was hunched over and holding his stomach.

"What's the matter with you?" Atem heard the question, but he had to think of something sad fast to get rid of his erection. 'Think of something, you idiot!' He thought to himself. That alone was enough to get him to calm down. "Atem?" At hearing his name, the Prince looked up. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Yugi shrugged and sat on the gigantic bed in nothing but the bottom part of his tunic. He literally sank in it due to its softness.

"Wow, this is really soft!" Atem smirked again.

"I'm glad you like it." Yugi looked at him, about to ask him what he meant, when Atem began to undress. Purposely, he slowly lowered the top of his tunic down to his waist, down his legs and then let it fall to the floor. Now it was Yugi's turn to stare with lust. His eyes opened wide at how perfect Atem looked. When Atem turned around, Yugi got a good look at the Prince's tone chest. He was not _overly_ muscular, but he did have a well developed six-pack. His tan was glowing in the light of both the moon and the torches. He took off his jewelry and put the gold pieces on his vanity. Now neither Prince was wearing any jewelry, including their crowns. Even without all the gold, Atem still looked very attractive. Yugi averted his gaze towards the ceiling when he saw that Atem was taking the rest of his tunic off. Atem liked to be '_free_' when he slept, as he put it. Yugi was feeling things he had never felt before. The strange heat he felt all over his body the first time he saw Atem returned. '_What is this?_' He mentally asked himself. Atem finally entered the bed. He scooted close to his little fiancé.

"Sweet dreams, Little One." He wound his arms around Yugi's waist and brought him close to his bare body and let his hand run up and down his leg. This, once again, brought Yugi out of his thoughts. He pushed Atem's hand away and scooted over.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let's get one thing straight." Atem continued to smile while Yugi spoke. "There will be no touching me inappropriately while we're in the same bed!" Atem cocked his head, looking so innocent.

"What do you mean '_inappropriately_', Yugi?" Yugi glared.

"I mean you don't get to touch me until we're married, if even then." Atem shrugged, still smiling.

"Fine then. I just wanted to make sure you were warm." Yugi pulled the blankets up over his shoulder.

"I'm fine." Still smiling, Atem leaned over and gave Yugi a peck on the cheek, surprising the Japanese Prince.

"Very well. Sleep well, Yugi." He said as he blew out the candle on the night stand and laid down to go to sleep. Yugi was left blushing in the dark for a few seconds. He brought a hand to his cheek and kept it there.

"G-good night …" He said as he too laid down, facing away from Atem. Unbeknownst to him, Atem smirked. '_You'll be mine in no time, I know it._'

--

Sometime in the middle of the night, Atem woke up, for really no reason at all. He looked over to the other side of the bed and saw Yugi still sleeping. This happened a lot. There were times when Atem suffered from insomnia. He liked to lay in his bed at night when someone was with him, but every so often, he felt the need to get up and walk around. This was one of those nights.

He went down to the kitchen to get a drink. Usually, a little wine helped him fall asleep. Once he was back in his room, he went over to the balcony and looked out towards the city. He liked this time of night. It was quiet, peaceful, and for some reason, he enjoyed being under the light of the moon. He almost tripped over the large cage that housed the small parakeet. "Damn bird." He whispered.

Without meaning to, he accidently woke Sornichi up. She began to chirp, but Atem shushed her in fear of waking Yugi up. A sound from the bed caught his attention but it was just Yugi turning over onto his other side. "What's the matter with you?" Atem whispered to Sornichi. She was frantically chirping now, quite loudly. "Shut up!" Sornichi hopped around the bowl that had seed in it. "You want food?" Atem looked around and saw a small sack of seeds that Yugi brought to feed Sornichi with. He took a handful of seed. However, he failed to notice the panicked state the bird was in. As soon as he opened the door to the cage, but the bird swiftly flew out of the cage. "Oh no!" After circling the room for a few more minutes, Sornichi flew over towards the balcony and flew off into the city. Atem ran after her just in time to see the tiny bird fly away. He looked to Yugi, who was still asleep in the bed, and then swallowed the lump in his throat. "Oops …"

--

The next morning when Yugi woke up, he realized that Atem was not in his bed. Shrugging, the small Prince went over to the balcony to catch the sunrise. He had to admit that this was a beautiful view. He could see the entire city from Atem's upper level room. The sky was clear and the sun was starting to rise. It created a wonderful scene of colors in its wake. "The sunrise is so beautiful here, Sornichi. Don't you think so?" When no answer came, he looked over towards her cage. "Sornichi?" Before he could get to her cage, Atem entered the room with a guilty look on his face.

"Y-yugi … you're awake …" Yugi looked up. Atem had dark circles under his eyes.

"Where were you?"

"I uh, couldn't sleep." To be honest, he was up all night thinking of a way to tell Yugi that his pet was missing.

"Are you okay? You don't look so good."

"I-I'm fine …" Yugi shrugged and went over to Sornichi's cage. "Yugi, no!" But it was too late. Yugi already pulled the cloth off of the cage. His eyes widened in panic when he found that his best friend was not where she was supposed to be.

"**SORNICHI!**" The small Prince searched her cage frantically as if he was going to find her. "Where is she?! Sornichi, answer me!" Atem bit his lip. The guilt was getting to him.

"Um … Yugi …" Yugi was looking all around the cage, looking for the small bird.

"Not now!"

"It's about your bird …" Yugi looked up with teary eyes. Yugi walked over to his fiancé, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Where is she, Atem?" Atem hung his head. He felt like the worst person in the world at that moment.

"Yugi … last night, I was trying to feed her, and when I opened the cage door, she … kinda flew off …" Yugi's wide eyes seemed to grow even wider in panic.

"WHAT?! How could you?! She won't survive out there!" Atem shrugged. He could not see what all the fuss was about. She was just a bird.

"So what? I'll get you a new bird." Yugi's jaw clenched and his chin began to quiver. Immediately, Atem realized that he had said something wrong. What he did not realize was just how much that statement affected the younger Prince. Before Atem could comprehend why his fiancé was so upset, a fist approached his face and harshly punched him right below his right eye. The shock of the impact caused Atem to stumble a few steps back. He rubbed the area with his hand. When he recovered, he saw a look between sadness and anger in Yugi's eyes.

"How _**dare**_ you even say that! Sornichi can _**not**_ be replaced! She's my best friend!" The smaller Prince lowered his gaze to the floor, letting a tear drop. "I have to find her …" With that said, he dashed out of the room. Atem sighed as he rubbed his cheek.

"Damn … That boy has one hell of a right hook!" He then ran after the other Prince.

Yugi was speed-walking down the hall with burning anger. "Yugi, wait!" He heard Atem yell. Yugi groaned. '_I know I'm going to regret this …_' He thought to himself.

"What?" He asked with a stern voice. It came out a little harsher then he intended. Atem finally caught up to him.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't know that the bird was so important to you." Yugi just continued to glare.

"Her name is Sornichi."

"Apologies; I didn't know _Sornichi_ was so important to you." There was a small mock in the way Atem spoke. When seeing that Yugi did not stop glaring, he sighed. "Look, it's my fault she flew off; so I'll help you recover her." That statement made Yugi stop glaring.

"You will?"

"Of course." '_Besides, I there's no way I'll have you when you're so angry at me_.' Atem sinisterly thought to himself. He smiled his famous charming smile, which caused Yugi to blush.

"Well … thank you. Let's go." Atem could tell that Yugi had fallen victim to his smile just like so many before him. That same increasing redness of his cheeks said it all.

"Atem, are you coming or not?" The Egyptian Prince snapped himself out of his thoughts.

"I'm coming, but how do you plan on doing this?" Yugi looked at the older.

"How else? We go into the city and call her name." Atem folded his arms and shook his head. "What?" The younger Prince was getting quite annoyed. With every second that passed, their chances of finding Sornichi decreased.

"We can't just do that. We need to have a plan. First of all, we're both royalty, and there are people out there that would be happy to kidnap up like that." Yugi gasped. He had not thought of that. "And second of all, you don't know the city that well. Lucky for you, I do. We'll be doing this by my rules. Come on." Atem grabbed Yugi's wrist and dragged him down the hall.

--

"This will never work, we look so obvious!" Yugi said as the two Princes made their way to the royal stables. They were both dressed in cloaks that wrapped around their bodies. Atem took the liberty of covering their heads as well so they would not so easily be recognized.

"You wanna get your bird back? Then stop whining!" Atem seemed to be the leader now. He took Yugi's hand and guided him out of the palace.

"Why are we going through the stables? Can't we just walk out the front gates?"

"No, too many people pass by there." And he was right; there were always people going in and out of the palace. Atem had to keep watch to make sure no one was following them. He took Yugi over to a small place in the wall that was hollowed out. "This is secret escape route that I discovered when I was ten. I assume that its original use was a secret passage if the palace ever came under attack." Yugi did not argue. He let himself into the secret passage to the other side of the wall.

Once out in the free world, Yugi took a deep breath. "I've always wondered what it was like out here." Atem raised a brow at hearing this.

"You've never been outside before?" Yugi shook his head.

"No, there's really no reason for me to go outside at home. Not a lot of people take me seriously." Yugi explained with a sad tone in his voice. Atem felt sorry for the smaller Prince. He was always sneaking outside with Seto. To have to live every single day of one's life inside was really quite sad. As for the lack of respect, Atem could not truly say he understood because everyone gave him respect. The only reason was because he demanded it. Not being able to resist, he embraced his fiancé, just giving him a reassuring hug.

"I'm sorry." He simply said. Yugi had no idea what Atem was sorry for, but he returned the embrace nonetheless. After a few seconds, he pulled away.

"Let's go." Atem nodded. The two made their way over to the marketplace. Unfortunately for today, it was quite crowded. Yugi sighed.

"We're never going to find Sornichi …"

"We might if we split up." Yugi looked at him.

"W-what? Why?"

"We can cover more ground."

"B-but … you told me that you'd guide me through the city …" Atem turned and saw the scared look in Yugi's eyes. At some point, he forgot that this boy was not from here and did not know how to navigate through the city. He sighed.

"Alright, come on." The two Princes began to walk throughout the market place. Atem was not too impressed, seeing as he already knew what the stands sold. Yugi, however, was intrigued with all the stands and what they contained. Suddenly, his eyes spotted a bunch of colors.

"Ooh!" He said like a small child, making his way over to the colors. It took Atem a while to notice that his guest was not next to him anymore.

"Yugi?" He looked around. "Yugi, where are you?" Through the crowd, he could see a cloaked figure at one of the stands on the other side of the market. It was at this moment that Atem realized their disguises caused them to stand out as much as their looks did.

At the stand, Yugi was looking at a necklace of beads of all colors. It had three jewels in it as well. The jewels were sapphires. These jewels seemed to sparkle more than any other sapphire he had seen before. "This is beautiful." He said to himself. The merchant smiled.

"Thank you very much. Those beads are found from one of the most exclusive mines in all of Egypt. As for the jewels, I mined those sapphires myself. They are very rare and hard to find." Yugi smile a big, happy smile. He just could not resist. He had to have this necklace.

"I'll take it." Yugi took out five gold coins and gave it to the merchant, who seemed surprise at how much money this stranger had.

"Sir, this is too much! How did you come to so much money?" Yugi was about to answer when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Yugi looked over his shoulder only to be scowled by a very irritated Atem.

"Where have you been?! Don't you ever run off like that again!" Atem yelled. Yugi was about to apologize when Atem threw his arms around him and buried his face in the little one's neck. "You scared me …" He whispered. Yugi awkwardly wrapped his arms around Atem's waist … that is until he felt Atem's hand grip his left cheek. Yugi gasped at this. Atem pulled away and winked at Yugi with that little smirk on his face. Yugi glared at him. They both left the stand and continued on their search for Sornichi.

"Why did you do that?!" Yugi asked with his hands on his hips, a blush on his face. Atem responded by folding his arms.

"Do you even remember the reason we're out here?" Yugi gasped.

"Sornichi!" Atem nodded.

"That's right." After that, the boys walked down every path, turned every corner and searched every ally, calling out Sornichi's name. After about two hours, and the small bird continued to be lost, Yugi was starting to give up hope.

"We'll never find her …" The small Prince buried his face in his hands. Atem could see how much that bird really meant to his fiancé.

"Yugi, why is this bird so important to you?" Yugi glared at him for calling his best friend a '_bird_'.

"_Sornichi_," he stressed, "was a gift my mother gave me one day." Atem was interested in this story.

"Why?" Yugi shrugged.

"I guess because she knew I was lonely. I didn't have any friends at home …" He looked up. "It's different for you, you've had that young Priest, what's his name?"

"Seto …"

"Yeah, I've seen the way you guys look at each other, with that look like you guys can't stand each other, but you're the best of friends." Atem never saw it that way. At this point, he really did feel sorry for Yugi. He hung his head in guilt for a second; guilt he did not know why he head.

"I'm sorry, Yugi." Yugi shrugged again.

"It's no big deal. I'm used to being on my own. That's why I need Sornichi. She gives me company." Yugi was about to restart the search when his wrist was grabbed and he was spun around into Atem's arms.

"Well now you won't be alone, we'll be together from now on." Yugi pulled away.

"You promised me that you'd help me find Sornichi, let's keep going …" Atem sighed and followed Yugi. They searched for two more hours, but nothing came up.

"Wait a second; it's been hours since she had anything to eat or drink." Atem said. Yugi looked at him.

"Yeah, so?"

"So, she might have flown towards the River Nile. A bird's instinct is to keep close to water." Yugi smiled.

"You're a genius!" Atem smirked.

"I know, but we can talk about that later, let's get to the river!" Luckily, they were not far from the river. It took about twenty minutes for them to reach the swampy parts that lead to the Nile.

"Sornichi!" Yugi called.

"Sornichi!" Atem followed. They looked around.

"Sornichi!" Yugi called from a small cliff. Atem was still calling out Sornichi's name when Yugi barely heard a small high pitched sound.

"Sorn--"

"Wait!" Atem stopped and looked at Yugi. Yugi followed his ears. The high pitched sound was getting a bit louder. He walked over to a boulder circled by a few smaller rocks. He definitely knew that sound. _Chirp …_ Yugi began to move the rocks. When he moved two rocks, he saw his little friend lying on the ground. Yugi smiled.

"Sornichi!" Atem ran over to help Yugi. The Japanese Prince scooped Sornichi up in his hands. Her feathers were dirty, and by the angle her wing was in, he could tell that it was broken. Her beak was open.

"She's dehydrated." Yugi rubbed his finger over Sornichi's feathers. A few tears were streaming down his face.

"I'm so glad I found her." Atem nodded. With Sornichi securely in Yugi's hands, the two Princes made their way back to the palace. Once there, Yugi set to work on helping his parakeet feel better. After cleaning her gently with a cloth and patching up her wing, he gave Sornichi a bowl of water and seeds, which she devoured very quickly. Because her wing was broken, Sornichi could not fly around her cage like she wanted to. She had to settle for hopping along the bottom of it.

--

Yugi nuzzled his best friend one more time before he put her in her cage. "I'm glad you're okay, Sornichi." The small bird let out a chirp. He could tell that she was happy to be home. After that, Yugi began to get ready for bed. Atem came in just as Yugi was taking his shirt off. 'Oh no, not again!' He thought to himself. Yugi turned around and smiled at Atem.

"Hey, Atem. I just wanted to say thank you for helping me find Sornichi today." Atem shrugged. He hardly caught the statement since he was more focused on Yugi's bare upper body.

"It was the least I could do since it was my fault she got out in the first place." He said. Yugi nodded.

"Yeah, you're right." Atem smiled. "Where were you anyway?" Atem rolled his eyes.

"Oh, I was given a lecture by my father because we missed a big discussion about the wedding. Atem went over to his vanity and got ready to bed. "He puts the blame on me because he thinks I whisked you off today." Yugi could not help but smile. He covered his mouth with his hand to keep himself from laughing.

"I'm sorry." Atem waved his arm and climbed into bed. He was once again going to sleep in the nude while Yugi slept in the bottom half of his tunic. Yugi was about to blow out the candle when Atem stopped him.

"Yugi …" The Japanese Prince looked at Atem, who seemed a little uncomfortable. This was quite a rare sight seeing how it was Atem.

"Yes?" The Egyptian Prince swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Since we're going to be married in less than two months," Yugi cocked his head, trying to see where this was going, "would it be alright if I … kissed you?" This was not against the rules of his wager against Seto. Yugi seemed surprised at this question.

"W-well, shouldn't we wait until the wedding?" Atem smiled and scooted over to Yugi. This boy really was pure, never touched.

"Well, it's not uncommon for couples to just kiss when they are engaged." Yugi blinked. Atem smiled at the younger's confusion. He cupped Yugi's left cheek in his hand and leaned in until their lips were touching.

--

End of Chapter (_Can't give you a preview of the next chapter since I've gotta come up with one_)


	4. The Oasis

_Well, I was planning on spending a little more time with Yugi thinking Atem is the most disgusting person in the world, but I think it's been long enough and frankly, I bet you guys want this thing to move on as quickly as possible. Therefore, here's where things are set into motion. Not much else to tell other than this is a pretty long one, but should be just as enjoyable ... I hope ..._

--

Yugi felt pure bliss when Atem's lips touched his own. He enjoyed the soft texture and the strange taste that lingered off of them. This was Yugi's first kiss and he really did not know what to expect, but he was not expecting this feeling. He had never felt like this before. All he knew was that he did not want Atem to stop anytime soon. Over on Atem's end, he was lost in the sensation as well. Never before had he tasted lips so soft and so pure. Atem took the risk of taking a step further and licked Yugi's petal too soft to be real bottom lip. Yugi attempted to open his mouth in order to ask what Atem was doing, but did not get a chance.

Atem took that as opportunity to slip his tongue into Yugi's mouth. Yugi's eyes widened in surprise at the strange feeling of the foreign organ in his mouth, but found that he actually enjoyed it. He slowly closed his eyes in relaxation. Atem had never felt more pleasure than he had right at that moment. He loved the taste of Yugi's lips, but the inside of Yugi's mouth was just so addicting. He had a unique taste all his own. Atem already decided that he loved it. The Egyptian Prince was about to let out a long moan when Yugi beat him to it. Atem was a little surprised, but he smirked into the kiss, nonetheless. The sound was music to the older Prince's ears.

Atem's right hand began to travel down the left side of Yugi's body. The Japanese Prince moaned once more, sending shivers down Atem's spine. '_My Ra, This kid is amazing!_' Atem thought to himself. Atem had never felt skin that was so soft and felt so … clean? Was that the word? Well, Atem had also never really slept with another royal before, except Seto, but his skin was a hardened texture. Atem simply loved Yugi's skin. He could not get enough of it. He wanted to touch every inch, but knew he had to stop so as not to scare Yugi away once again. Slowly, as if teasing the younger Prince, Atem pulled his lips away from Yugi. The smaller Prince groaned. Atem chuckled lightly. Somehow, Yugi had ended up lying down on the bed while Atem was leaning over him.

"Did you enjoy that, Yugi?" Yugi let out a long, relaxing sigh.

"Yeah ... I've never felt anything like that before." Atem smiled. Not a smirk, but a real smile. He caressed Yugi's cheek with his hand. Yugi giggled.

"Don't think I didn't feel your hand on my stomach." Atem's eyes widened. He was surprised that Yugi was not struggling to get away from him.

"Sorry, Yugi … I … um …"-- Yugi placed a finger on Atem's lips.

"You stopped yourself from going any further. I'm proud of you." Atem blinked in confusion. After a few seconds, he smiled.

"I know you're new to this, and I didn't want to scare you away." Atem's hand caressed Yugi's soft stomach again. Yugi blushed. "What's the matter, Yugi? There's no reason to be shy anymore." Yugi's blush continued to grow.

"I-I know, but … well, I know you're experienced, but I'm …" He turned his blushing face away from the older Prince on top of him, "I'm …"

"A virgin?" Atem finished. Yugi nodded. He heard a chuckling sound above him and felt a gentle hand turn his face to look at the Egyptian Prince. Atem pressed a soft, comforting kiss to Yugi's lips.

"Relax, Yugi. We'll wait for a while, until you feel comfortable." Yugi smiled. He knew about Atem's reputation and was pleased to know that despite it, Atem was still willing to wait just to respect Yugi's wishes. Yugi hugged Atem.

"Thank you, Atem."

"Your welcome." Atem lied down next to Yugi, who crawled into Atem's arms. Atem smiled, running his hand up and down Yugi's arm. Normally, he was not one for cuddling, but with Yugi, it just felt right.

"Good night, Atem"

"Night, Yugi."

--

Later that night, Atem was suffering from Insomnia once again. However, this time he had something to do. He looked down at Yugi in his arms and smiled. This unique jewel fit so perfectly in his arms, almost as if the little one belonged there. Yugi was so soft, and Atem could not get over just how soft he really was. He had smooth baby skin and large soft eyes. Atem's smile widened as he leaned his head down gave Yugi a small kiss on the head. Suddenly, a thought struck Atem, causing him to sit up with eyes wide open in horror. "Oh no …" He could not believe it; he really was falling in love with Yugi. Terrified by this thought, he needed to get out of that bed right now. Slowly, he withdrew the arm that Yugi was cuddling against and left the bed as silently as he could. He wrapped a hip wrap around his middle. He stopped at the door and took a glance back at Yugi, who was still sleeping peacefully. Sighing, Atem quietly left his bedroom and closed the door silently.

Atem needed to get some fresh air. He did not know where his legs were taking him, but he somehow ended up in his private garden. This was his place to go when he had to get away from everyone and just think about things. The night air was cool and there was a slight breeze. Atem sat on a stone bench that sat in the middle of three flowerbeds. He looked up at the clear night sky overhead. His was confused and a little afraid. He had never been in love before. All he was used to was attraction and lust. But the feelings he had for Yugi were stronger. He wanted to hold the younger Prince, to protect him, and to never let him go. These feelings were scaring him. He knew he was engaged, but he never expected to actually fall in love with his fiancé. He figured his life would not change much, even if he was married. Now, he knew that he was very, very wrong. Atem felt a sickening feeling in his stomach. He felt as if he wanted to throw up, but could not.

"What is happening to me?" He asked himself.

"You're losing your mind since you're starting to talk to yourself." Atem was startled out of his thoughts and let out a small yelp when he saw Seto standing behind him, arms folded. Seto was wearing only wearing a hip wrap, just like him. Atem sighed with a hand over his heart.

"What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?" Seto smirked.

"That would just be an added bonus." Atem sighed and sat back down.

"What do you want, Seto?" Atem asked, not really caring about the answer. Seto shrugged, moving to sit next to his friend.

"I couldn't sleep any more than you could."

"Mmm …" Atem responded.

"How's it going with Yugi?" Seto asked with a smirk. Atem gulped at hearing his fiancé's name.

"It's … getting there …" The youngest Priest looked at Atem suspiciously.

"What's going on with you?" He rudely asked. Atem sighed. He rubbed his eyes with his hand before deciding to do what he did next.

"Let me try something." Atem stood in front of Seto's face and brought him into a kiss. Seto's eyes were wide in shock. After a few seconds, Atem pulled away. Seto let out a sound of surprise and disgust.

"What the hell?!" Atem groaned loudly and stomped his foot like a child that had been denied a cookie.

"Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT! Nothing! It's true!" Seto was completely confused now.

"What the hell is your problem?!"

"Seto … I think … I think …" Seto stared.

"Okay, we've established that your brain is at least somewhat functional, now what are you throwing a temper tantrum about?" Atem bit his lip in nervousness.

"I … I think I'm … falling in love … with Yugi …" Finally, he confessed and he felt a little better to let someone know about how he felt. There was silence for a moment. Neither Seto nor Atem made a more or sound. That is, until finally, Seto broke the silence.

"Ah ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, HA!" He laughed, quite loudly. Atem looked at his friend like he was being insulted.

"What's so funny?" Seto continued to laugh.

"Just the idea of _**you**_ falling in love! I didn't even think you knew the meaning of the word!" Now Atem was insulted.

"And what's that supposed to mean?!" Seto continued to laugh, but tried hard to control it now.

"Atem, don't be stupid. With all due respect, you're kinda considered the palace whore." Atem's temper was beginning to rise.

"Well, with _no_ due respect, Seto, I believe you're just as guilty of being a palace whore as I am."

"Really? So have you and Yugi been intimate yet, or do I win?" Atem was taken aback.

"W-well, Yugi wants to wait, after all, he is very honorable." Seto scoffed.

"Yeah, that's the reason …" He said in a manner that suggested that he did not believe a word Atem was saying.

"Hey, I'm not the only one at fault here! You are just as much of a narcissist as I am, and you know it!" Seto knew that he was getting under Atem's skin because Atem's defense mechanism of '_finger pointing_' was beginning to show.

"That's where you're wrong. I have the ability to control my desires. You're the only one I relieve stress with. You, on the other hand, will hump anything with a pulse." Atem stared at his best friend for a second before speaking.

"What are you trying to tell me?" The Priest let out a long, exaggerated sigh.

"Okay, obviously you're not getting this." He stood in front of Atem and looked him straight in the eyes. "Look, if you're really falling in love with that little twerp, then you're going to have to change for his benefit."

"I realize that, Seto … and that's why I'm so scared." Atem lowered his sad gaze to the ground. Seto wanted to tease him, but decided not to when he saw how serious Atem was being. He had never seen Atem this serious before and knew that the situation really did have the Prince worried.

"Change isn't necessarily a bad thing." Atem sighed, running his hands through his hair.

"I guess I should get back to Yugi, then …" Seto nodded. The two made their way into the palace. Seto was able to get the last word before the two parted ways.

"Don't forget about our bet, Atem." That sentence alone was enough to bring Atem out of his funk. He turned around and smirked at his friend.

"Shouldn't be too much of a challenge if Yugi and I are really in love." He heard Seto growl as he continued to his room with a smug look on his face.

Once Atem returned to his room, he found that Yugi was still fast asleep, right in the spot where he left the little one. Atem smiled. He took off the hip wrap and gently entered the bed, careful not to wake Yugi up. Yugi only groaned softly and turned over onto his other side. Atem smiled at how adorable his small fiancé was. "Perhaps Seto is right, maybe change is good." With that thought in mind, Atem lied down and closed his eyes.

--

The next morning, Yugi woke up to the sun shining in his eyes. He stretched as he thought about how good of a sleep he had last night. He was very warm, and for some reason, he felt … protected, safe. "I don't think I've ever slept so well in my life." As he was thinking this, a chirp from Sornichi caught his attention. Yugi smiled and made his way over to the cage. "Morning, Sornichi. Feel any better?" The small bird was sitting in a corner of her cage, since she could not fly. Yugi pet her on the head to make her feel better.

"A-hem!" Yugi looked behind him and saw Atem, all dressed and ready for the day. He had a soft smile on his face. Not the typical smirk that Yugi was used to. Yugi smiled and walked over to the other Prince, but stopping in front of him.

"Morning, Atem." Atem stepped forward and gave Yugi a firm hug. This surprised the Japanese Prince, but when memories of the previous night flow through his mind, he relaxed and hugged Yugi back.

"Morning, Yugi. Did you sleep well?" Atem knew the answer to that, but he still wanted to be polite and ask. Yugi happily nodded.

"Sure did."

"I could tell because you never let go of my arm all night." Atem decided not to tell Yugi about his nightly conversation with Seto. Yugi blushed.

"Sorry …" Atem moved and went over to the closet, picking out a fresh tunic for Yugi to wear for the day.

"No, I actually quite enjoyed it."

"You did?"

"Yes," He threw the tunic to Yugi who caught it, "you kept me warm last night." Yugi's blush continued to grow. The Egyptian Prince knew just what to say. Before he could comment, Atem slowly walked up to him. "Where's my morning kiss?" Yugi cocked his head in confusion.

"Morning kiss?" Suddenly, he felt a hand on his hip, bringing him closer towards Atem. The older Prince placed his lips on Yugi's and gave him a nice strong kiss. Yugi, having already learned that he loved Atem's kisses, accepted it. Slowly, to add to the effect that the kiss was having on Yugi, Atem pulled away. Yugi opened his eyes and smiled. "Wow, really good morning to you too."

"Get dressed, we have to meet my father downstairs for breakfast and then we'll plan our day." Yugi nodded.

"That sounds good."

--

Atem led Yugi to the dining room, hand in hand. Yugi was wondering why Atem was acting like a gentleman, but put that thought aside and decided to enjoy the treatment he was given. Atem pulled out Yugi's chair and motioned for the smaller to sit. Yugi did so. Atem sat next to him. Both Princes had to stand when Aknumkanon entered the room.

"Good morning, boys."

"Morning, Sir."

"Good morning, Father." All three sat as they waited for their food.

"So, how are you two this morning?" The Pharaoh asked. Yugi opened his mouth to speak, but Atem spoke instead.

"We're doing fine, Father. In fact, we're going to spend the day together. I think I'm going to take him to that oasis, you know, the one that only you and I know of." He looked at Yugi with a longing look and winked at him. Yugi gave him a look that seemed to ask what the older was up to.

"The Oasis? But my son, that is our own secret." The Pharaoh and his son had their own vacation spot somewhere out in the desert that no one else knew of. It was a beautiful place that could only be found by someone with Shadow Magic. Atem had no idea if Yugi was familiar with magic at all, but he was not about to scare his fiancé away by showing him. He would have to think of some way to blindfold Yugi so that they could go.

"I realize that, Father, but if Yugi is going to join our family, don't you think he has the right to know all of our secrets?" Aknunmkanon knew that Atem meant more than just the oasis. The Pharaoh sighed; there was no way he could argue against that logic. Alright, fine; you may take him to the oasis, just don't let him know the … location of it just yet." Yugi was getting a little pissed off with these two Egyptians speaking as if he was not right in front of their faces.

"If I may say something," Yugi said, gaining the attention of the other two, "don't I get a choice in this? I mean, I do want to know your family secrets, but not if you're not ready for me to learn them." Atem and his father did not know what to say. The two continued to stare at the younger Prince for a few seconds.

"It's really no big deal, Yugi. I'm going to take you somewhere special, but you can't learn its location until we're married." Atem explained. Yugi shrugged.

"Okay …" He did not feel like arguing right now. He was, however, pretty surprised when he felt something slide up his leg. Taken back for a second, he glanced at Atem, who winked at him. These kinds of acts still made Yugi a little uncomfortable, but he knew that he was going to have to get used to it sooner or later. But that did not mean that he liked it. Yugi stayed still, hoping that action would stop Atem's foot from feeling him up, but it only made the Egyptian Prince more excited. Yugi kicked him in the shin to get him a stop. Visibly flinching, Atem finally stopped.

--

After breakfast, the Pharaoh went to discuss wedding preparations with the Priests. Atem took Yugi out to his garden, mostly by force. "Atem, tell me where we're going, or I'm not taking another step further!" Yugi demanded. Atem was pulling him by the wrist. Atem stopped and smiled.

"Alright, this is where we'll go."

"Go where?"

"I'll tell you … later." Atem produced a blindfold in his hand. Yugi blinked in confusion.

"What's that for?"

"Like I said earlier, Yugi; you'll learn all of our family secrets, and I'm about to let you in on our biggest secret." Yugi pulled back, somewhat fearing what Atem had planned.

"I-I don't know if I want to learn your secrets …" Atem sensed Yugi's discomfort and stood in front of his small fiancé. He smiled as he softly brought his hand up to Yugi's cheek and caressed it. Yugi closed his eyes and nuzzled Atem's hand, placing his own on the tan hand cupping his cheek. After a few more seconds of administrating this comforting action, Atem softly brought Yugi into a small kiss.

"Do you trust me?" Atem whispered in a seductive tone. Had Yugi been thinking clearly, he probably would not have given the answer that he did.

" … … Yes … …" Atem's smile turned into a smirk when Yugi did not open his eyes. He placed the blindfold around his beautiful eyes and took Yugi's extremely soft hands in his own, placing a kiss on both of them.

"Just relax." He whispered again. Yugi nodded. Atem closed his eyes and chanted softly. Yugi could hear that Atem was muttering something, but he could not hear what those words were.

"What did you say, Atem?" Before Atem could answer the two teleported with a shower of shadows.

They reappeared in a beautiful oasis. It was fair size it had a small cave that led underground, a clean, clear pond with a small waterfall, and a few palm trees. The sky was so clear and there was not another person around for miles. Atem kept the blindfold on Yugi for a few seconds before taking it off. When the blindfold left Yugi's eyes, he had to shield his eyes from the intense sunlight. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he gasped at the beautiful place he stood in. He had not seen something so beautiful since he had arrived in Egypt. "Where are we …?" Yugi asked. Atem smiled. He came up behind the smaller Prince and wrapped his arms around his small waist while he rested his chin on Yugi's shoulder.

"This is a secret oasis that Father and discovered many years ago. It has been sort of a … vacation spot for the two of us ever since. He used to take me here before every flood of the Nile." Atem smiled at his own memories. These were the few good memories he had of times when he could spend with his father. Yugi was still awestruck and looking around. He could 

smell the scent of that the palm trees were giving off. The soft sound of the small waterfall sounded so nice at that moment.

"How did we get here?" He asked. Atem knew this question would come and he was prepared for it.

"I know it felt like it was not that long, Yugi but you were actually asleep and we've been traveling for an hour." Atem's fingers were crossed behind his back. Yugi blinked in confusion to his fiancé. He was asleep? When?

"When was I asleep?" Atem chuckled.

"I guess you were really relaxed because you fell asleep right after I kissed you." Yugi blushed again.

"Oh … sorry about that …" Atem chuckled again and brought Yugi into a warm embrace.

"Don't worry; it gave me the opportunity to take you here. This is a secret spot, you know; its secret location must remain in the family." Yugi just shrugged and decided to go with the explanation, even if he really did not believe it. He did believe that Atem would tell him the truth one day.

"Thank you for bringing me." Suddenly, Yugi felt that the gold bands that held his tunic together were being undone. He immediately pushed himself away from Atem.

"Atem, what are you doing?!"

"There's no reason to be shy, Yugi. There's no one around for miles, only me."

"B-but why are you … why were you … why …?" -- Atem's smirk was holding that playful glint that Yugi was beginning to become familiar with.

"Don't you want to go swimming? This pond is so clean that you can freely drink it without having fear of becoming sick. That's something you can't do in the Nile."

"S-swimming?" Atem's playful smirk grew.

"Yugi, you do know how to swim, don't you?" Yugi's gaze found its way to the sand as a blush ran over his face. Atem chuckled and began to remove his own tunic and jewelry. "Then allow me to teach you." Yugi blushed as Atem moved into the water in absolutely nothing. He was used to Atem going to bed in the nude, but this was a different situation. "You don't have to be scared, Yugi. Like I told you before: the water is clean." Yugi bit his lip. He was still a little uncomfortable, but he and Atem were to be married in less than two months, so he decided to swallow his fear and take a chance.

"Okay, but can you do me a favor and turn around for a second?" Atem chuckled and nodded. He did as asked. Yugi nervously stripped out of his tunic and placed it where Atem had thrown his own. Slowly, Yugi entered the water. It was a little cold at first, but once he was all the way in, he became used to it. Atem heard him enter the water and his excitement grew.

"Can I look now?" Yugi made an approving sound. When Atem turned around, he was astonished by the beauty before him. Even though Yugi was torso-high in the water, Atem had a good look at his body through the crystal clear liquid. He found himself staring, his jaw dropped and licking his dry lips.

"What, do I have something in my hair?" Yugi moved a hand to wipe at his hair. Atem took that hand and placed several kisses on it. Yugi did not complain, but he was curious as to why Atem was acting this way. His kisses extended from Yugi's hand up his arm. The Japanese Prince was instantly alarmed, but was quickly brought into Atem's arms, surprising him too quickly to resist. Atem had Yugi in front of him, Yugi's back to Atem's chest. He moved his kissing from Yugi's lower arm, to his upper arm, and finally his shoulder. Yugi tried to struggle, but after feeling Atem's mouth move from his shoulder to his neck, the struggling stopped.

"I'm sorry, I just can't help it …" Atem whispered. Yugi was lost in such bliss that he hardly recognized that Atem had spoken. Yugi moaned and motioned for Atem to continue his assault on his neck, which the Egyptian Prince gladly complied. They stayed like that for a while. Yugi's hand guided Atem's head to the spot on his neck where he really wanted Atem's lips to be. Once Atem's soft lips and teeth began sucking and gently biting on the skin in that spot, Yugi lost his balance and would have almost drowned had Atem not been holding him up. One of Atem's hands began caressing Yugi's side, but the smaller Prince did not seem to mind.

"Ah … y-you promised … ah … you promised … you'd …t-teach me … ah … teach me … how to … swim … ah …" Yugi was barely able to get the sentence out of his mouth. He loved this feeling so much, and then all of a sudden, it was gone. Atem pulled away.

"I did, didn't I?" He said, smirking. Atem pulled away, leaving Yugi to feel a slight chill run up his spine. He did not know whether it was from the coolness of the water or the way Atem was looking at him. Atem winked. "Well then, the first lesson is learning to float." Yugi cocked his head in confusion.

"Float?" Atem nodded.

"That's right." Atem wound an arm around Yugi's waist and lead him into the deeper water. "Relax, Little One; do you trust me?" Yugi smiled.

"With my life." Atem smiled back.

"Easy, now; just hold your arms out and let the water carry you." Yugi lay on his stomach, floating on top of the water with Atem's hands under his belly and legs. He did as instructed, but with his eyes clenched shut. "You need to breath, Yugi. When your lungs are filled with air, you won't sink." Yugi tried his best to relax, but it was a little weird. Finally, he was able to control his breathing. He felt Atem move away and panic filled his mind once again. "It's alright, it's alright …" Atem said. The Japanese Prince remembered what his fiancé said about breathing so Yugi forced himself to breath. "Yugi, open your eyes." Very carefully, the younger Prince squinted one eye open and then widened both when he saw that he was floating.

"I'm doing it!" Yugi said. He looked like a baby that had just learned to crawl. Suddenly, he lost his balance and slipped under the water. Atem was quick to bring him back to the surface before he drowned. Yugi coughed up a little bit of water before he relaxed again. Atem laughed.

"Don't worry; it takes practice. Now, the next lesson is going underwater."

"But I just went underwater." Atem had to hold back his laughter.

"But this time, you're going to go underwater on purpose. All you have to do is breath out of your nose, like this." Atem took a deep breath and dunked himself underwater. Yugi watched as air bubbles rose to the surface. After a few seconds, Atem reappeared, soaking wet. His hair was almost completely flat against his back. This time, Yugi was the one who laughed.  
"What?"

"Your hair … I've never seen it wet before. You look completely different." Atem wrung the extra water out of his hair, though it was still wet so it remained on his back.

"When it dries it'll go back to its natural look. Anyway, now it's your turn." Yugi stopped his laughing.

"W-what?"

"Just do what I just showed you." Yugi hesitated, but did as he was told. He let himself go all the way underwater and came back up looking like Atem, with his hair against his back. Atem continued to give Yugi swimming lessons for the next hour or so.

--

Later, the two of them were lazing about in the oasis under a palm tree. Atem had taken the liberty of opening a few coconuts and offering Yugi the sweet fruit and the milk inside. A few rather rare berries and fruits grew in the oasis. It was like magic in Yugi's mind. Atem leaned against the palm tree's trunk while Yugi lay over him, resting his head on Atem's chest. Both were still nude. It took Atem a while to convince Yugi that it was no big deal to see each other naked, but Yugi finally agreed, so long as Atem did not try to start anything.

"Atem …" Atem took a drink of coconut milk.

"Yes, Yugi?" Said boy smiled.

"Thank you for bringing me here." Atem smiled.

"Your welcome. Now you know of this secret place. It is a place that Father and I have kept secret from the rest of the world; I expect you to do the same." Yugi snuggled into Atem's chest.

"Secret's safe with me …" Yugi let his sentence linger in the air due to the fact that he had fallen asleep. Atem, once again, could not sleep. His thoughts were on his feelings towards the teenage Prince. It still scared the crap out of him to know that he had fallen in love with the boy. Love was something he was no used to. The Egyptian Prince looked down at the happily sleeping boy in his lap and nervously swallowed the lump in his throat. Things were going to change now, and Atem was not a big fan of change.

--

_End of Chapter_

**Preview of Next Chapter**: Atem goes to Japan


	5. Coming Home

_Someone asked for me to finish this chapter as soon as possible, so here it is. Actually, it was much longer, but I had to cut it in half b/c it was long enough. Also, I keep forgetting to tell you all that for Yugi's father's name, I did research to find a name that was close to Atem's on a timeline of Ancient Pharaohs, and compared the year to Ancient Japanese Emperors. So Komatsu was what I came up with. Yugis brothers are also named after other Emperors. Anyway, here we go with some new material!_

---

Prince Yugi sighed for the umpteenth time as he sat on the edge of the balcony adjacent to Atem's room. It was a wonder temperature for the middle of a day in Egypt. The temperature was still hot, but not scolding. The sky was clear while only a few patchy clouds passed by. It had been a few days since Atem had taken Yugi to that oasis. He had fallen asleep and somehow they ended up back in the palace. Since then, Atem had been avoiding Yugi as much as possible. He would scoot a little bit away during meals, he would not take walks with Yugi the way he used to, and he would not let the other cuddle up to him at night the way he had been since Yugi arrived. Another sigh passed the Japanese Prince's lips.

"It's like he's disgusted by me, Sornichi." In his hands was the tiny parakeet, Sornichi. Her wing was still bandaged up, but she could move it. However, it would still be a few more weeks before she could fly. She flapped her good wing and chirped. Yugi continued to pet her head and feed her seeds. A tear ran down his cheek as he thought of how Atem had been acting towards him. Yugi never thought he would admit it, but he was beginning to miss the old Atem; the Atem that would try to seduce him every waking moment. More tears made their way down Yugi's cheeks. He did not make any attempt to wipe them away. The Prince sniffed as he looked out towards the kingdom. It was so beautiful in this mid-day sun. He looked down, knowing that he was at least five stories above the ground. Oh well, that as okay. He was not scared of heights and he was always extremely careful. Yugi was brought out of his thoughts at the sound of his name being yelled out in worry.

"Yugi!" Said Prince was so surprised that he almost lost his balance. He looked down to see a worried look in Atem's ruby eyes. "What are you doing up there?! Get down from there this instant!" Yugi frowned. Yugi was beginning to think that Atem suffered from mood swings. First he was all about seducing Yugi, and then he practically ignores him, now he wants to be all caring and loving? 'I wish he would make up his mind!'

"Don't worry; I'm fine. I do this all the time." Which was true. Back home, Yugi would climb the roof of his bedroom and spend early mornings watching the sunrise. When Atem saw that Yugi refused to obey his command, he decided to take a stand.

"Yugi, please! You're making me nervous!" Yugi rolled his eyes and let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Fine, I'm coming down …" In one leap, one that almost made Atem jump out of his skin, Yugi jumped off the roof. Atem was fully prepared to catch him but Yugi landed on the ground in a crouching position; no injuries at all. After recovering from the freight of Yugi's jump, Atem let out a sigh of relief. Yugi scowled at him. "Happy?" He walked past his fiancé and washed his face in the clean water of the garden pool.

"Yugi, what were you doing up there?"

"What business is it of yours?!" Atem was startled by Yugi's tone.

"It's my business because I care about you." Yugi scoffed and rolled his eyes. Yugi started to walk the other way. "Don't give me that! I do care about you!" Atem reached for Yugi's shoulder. Yugi turned around and swiped Atem's hand off of his shoulder.

"Like hell you do! For the past few days you've been avoiding me!" Atem hung his head in shame. Yugi continued with years running down his face. "I don't know what I did to make you so angry at me, but I'm sorry." Yugi paused to catch his breath and then continued. "Just when I think that you might not be the prick I thought you were"----

"Yugi, it's not what you think …" Atem interrupted. Yugi ignored Atem's interruption and continued his rant.

"Do you know why my father agreed to have me marry you?" Atem was taken aback by the question. He had to think of the answer.

"Um … because you were a gift to me …?" Yugi chuckled humorlessly and rolled his eyes.

"And do you know why that is?" Atem slowly shook his head, not really liking where this conversation was going. "He gave me to you so that he didn't have to deal with me anymore." By now, Yugi had taken a seat on the bench in the garden. Atem had the strangest feeling of confusion. He slowly walked up to Yugi and carefully sat down on the bench, with a large gap between them.

"Um … what do you mean?" Yugi turned to face the other way. There was no way he could look at his fiancé while he explained himself.

"I envy you, Atem," Atem raised a brow while Yugi smiled a sad smile and continued, "you're so close to your father. He'd do anything to keep you out of harm's way." The Egyptian Prince had no idea what that had to do with anything. He opened his mouth to ask that very question when Yugi continued. "My father can't stand me. I've never been able to understand why. The only times he talks to me are when he's ordering me around or yelling at me for the smallest thing." Atem's confused face turned to one of sadness. He saw Yugi quickly wipe a tear away. "That's why he agreed to this. This marriage was his excuse to finally get rid of me."

"I'm sure that's not the reason …"

"But it is …" Yugi's mind seemed to wander now. "I wonder why he kept me as a Prince instead of disowning me all together. I mean, after all, he doesn't want me around. He loves my brothers, but he could never learn to love me …" Atem was taken aback. He thought that Yugi was an only child like himself.

"You have brothers?" Atem knew that this question was completely unrelated to the topic at hand, but he wanted to lighten the mood at least a little bit. Without looking at the older Prince, Yugi nodded his head.

"Yes, I have three older brothers. They hate me just as much as my father does. They call me their '_runt of a half-brother_'." Being an only child, Atem had no idea what having a sibling was like, but Seto did come close. Atem was about to change the subject again when Yugi, once again, beat him to the punch. "My eldest brother is the heir to the throne. My two other brothers are master samurai warriors. They've achieved so much. But nothing I do is good enough for them. I just wish they would accept me …" Suddenly, the small Prince jumped to his feet so fast that Atem did a double-take. "Why can't they do that?"

"Yugi, it can't be that bad." Yugi spun around to face Atem, who could see that Yugi's eyes were bloodshot; evidence that he had been crying while he was speaking.

"Not that bad?! My family hates me! No one in Japan respects me! I have a bird as my best friend!" His voice grew in volume. "WHAT'S '_NOT BAD_' ABOUT THAT?!" Atem backed away. Yugi did not seem like the type to scream. Obviously, this family issue was a sensitive subject to him. "Don't you see, Atem? This marriage was arranged so that my father doesn't have to put up with me anymore!" After the silence continued for a few seconds, Atem embraced Yugi from behind. He now felt so bad for distancing himself from the younger Prince. This boy needed the comfort that he was never given, and Atem was stupid enough to deny him that.

"I'm so sorry, Yugi." Atem expected Yugi to yell at him once again but the small boy turned around and cried into Atem's chest. Atem rubbed Yugi's back slowly. "I had no idea …"

"All I want … is a little attention sometimes. Is that too much to ask?" Atem shook his head.

"No; no, it's not." Atem continued to hold Yugi while he cried. The Egyptian Prince began to rub his back in order to sooth the smaller Prince. "I'm so sorry, Yugi. I promise that I will never hurt you again." Atem could feel tears beginning to form in his own eyes. Yugi sniffled.

"How can I trust you?" Atem flinched. He deserved that.

"I'm just going to have to prove it to you." Nothing else was said between the two Princes. Yugi just continued to stare at the ground while Atem took his fiancé's silence as a sign that he understood. The two went back into the palace, Atem leading Yugi slowly.

---

The rest of the evening was a little tense between the Princes. Ate dinner, Yugi picked at his food. He seemed to be lost in his own world. Atem could tell that he was thinking about his trip back to Japan. In order to sooth him, Atem took Yugi's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. However, Yugi pulled his hand back without even looking at his fiancé. Noticing this, Atem's father decided to intervene.

"May I have a moment with the boys, please?" It sounded like a question, but everyone knew it was a polite command that was expected to be obeyed. So the Priests all left the room. Yugi had not looked up from his plate. Aknonkanon looked at both boys. "Atem, what have you done to him?" Atem's eyes widened in an expression that seemed to suggest that he could not believe that his father had asked him that when he had done nothing wrong.

"What makes you think that I did something?!" He asked in an insulted tone.

"Well, not everyone is accustom to your ways of presenting yourself as I am." Atem was about to contradict his father when a soft voice beat him to it.

"It's not him …" Both Egyptian royals looked at the small Japanese Prince. I'm just not feeling well right now …"

"Does this have anything to do with going home tomorrow?" Yugi looked at the Pharaoh with watery eyes, which suggested that he had been silently crying. How could he guess that? Slowly, and a little creeped out, Yugi nodded his head.

"H-how did you know?" Aknonkanon smiled. He knew Komatsu's feelings for his son and he was disappointed. From what the Pharaoh had seen from Yugi, he became quite fond of the boy.

"I know that your father gives you a hard time." Yugi's face returned veto his plate.

"Not just him … my whole family … if you could call them that … My brothers are just as bad as my father." Atem's face turned to one of sadness. He felt so bad for his fiancé

"Think of it this way, Yugi," Yugi looked at Atem as he spoke, "it's only for a month, and then you'll be coming back with us." Atem took Yugi's small hand. "Then we'll be together forever." The older Prince rubbed Yugi's hand with his thumb in a loving way. The younger Prince smiled he felt a lot better now that Atem was caring for him again. Yugi nodded his response. He did not want to leave his mother, but at the same time he was happy to get away from all the teasing and torment that his family gave to him.

---

After dinner, Atem and Yugi returned to Atem's room in order to pack. Yugi had everything ready to go. He was not going to bring everything back because he would just be coming right back. He watched Atem race around his room trying to pack anything he needed for the trip. Yugi sat on the bed, petting Sornichi with a smile on his face. Watching a nervous Atem was a very funny sight.

"Alright, I have enough clothes for at least a while, packed as much jewelry as I could find, and I had all my make up packed as well. Am I forgetting anything?"

"Maybe you should pack something warm. It may get a little cold for you when we get there." Yugi said, the smirk still on his face. Atem countered with his own smirk.

"Please, Yugi. I think I can handle the weather." Yugi shrugged in a way that suggested that he was not going to argue. He then got up and returned the small parakeet to her cage.

"If you say so." As he closed the door to the cage, he was surprised to feel strong arms wrap around his waist and a chin place itself on his shoulder.

"Feel better?" Yugi relaxed and enjoyed the protective embrace.

"A little bit." They stayed like that before Sornichi began to chirp and flap her wings wildly around the bottom of her cage. Yugi chuckled while Atem looked at the small yellow bird as if he were asking: 'what's wrong with this crazy bird?' Yugi turned his head to look at Atem. "I think she's not happy about you touching me."

"Oh, really?" Atem walked around Yugi and bent down to Sornichi's level. "Well get used to it, because you're going to be seeing a lot of me touching your master from now on! How do you like that?!" As he yelled this, Sornichi jumped around her cage, flapping her wings and chirping in a threatening way. "You think you're so touch, huh? Too bad you're in that cage and I'm not!" Sornichi's chirping became louder. Yugi laughed at this sight. Seeing a tiny bird face off with Atem was even funnier than Atem on his own. This took his mind off of going home.

"Why do you let her get to you so much?" He asked.

"I try not to, but I feel as if I am competing with her for your affection." Yugi smiled at Atem's cute tantrum. He hugged the Egyptian Prince with a firm grip.

"You're not. I care for you both equally." Atem returned the hug, still glaring at Sornichi.

"Well, hopefully you'll learn to care more for me." The Egyptian Prince was starting to act like a little kid. While the two Princes hugged each other, Sornichi started to throw a tantrum once again. "Oh, shut up!" Atem snapped. Yugi just laughed.

---

The next morning, the Priests helped the servants load everything onto the boat that would be taking them to Yugi's homeland of Japan. Yugi, Atem, and Aknonkanon were the last three to board it. Throughout the journey, Yugi helped Atem brush up on his Japanese since that was the language that they would be speaking for the next month. Atem's father kept a close eye on his son, trying to make sure that he did not scare Yugi off again. About a week later, the boat docked into the Japanese port. Yugi waited for Atem, who came out from the lower level shivering from the cold. It was winter and snow was falling. Yugi just smiled in an 'I told you so' kind of way.

Later on, Yugi waited in his room for Atem to change into a warmer outfit. However, it was taking too long. Putting on a kimono should have taken no longer than five minutes … if one knew what one was doing. Yugi stood outside his bathing chambers with his arms folded and his left foot tapping impatiently. He sighed loudly.

"Are you almost finished?" No response came. "Come on, hurry up!"

"No!" Atem yelled from the washroom.

"You have to wear it or you'll freeze to death." For a long time, no response came from the unhappy Atem, but Yugi heard the door slide open and turned around. When he did, his eyes widened at the sight that he saw. Atem came out in a red kimono with a purple sash wrapped around his waist. His hair was pulled back, revealing some of his crown that was usually covered by his bangs. Yugi almost laughed when he saw the deep blush on his fiancé's face. The teenage Egyptian did not look happy.

"Oh … my … Kami …" Atem glared, with his blush growing, at Yugi.

"I am _**not**_ liking this …" Yugi had to control his laughter by biting his tongue so that he could confront his fellow Prince. He found it to be a very difficult task.

"Well, come take a look in the mirror." He said as he took Atem's hand and led him to the large, antique-looking (_at least it would be considered that today_) mirror. "See? I think you look cute." Atem's blush continued to increase, making his cheeks a very dark pink due to his naturally tan skin. He folded his arms and glared at his reflection.

"There is _**no**_ way that I'm wearing this for a whole month …" Finally, Yugi could not hold it in any longer and he laughed very loudly. Tears were starting to form in his eyes. "What's so funny?!" Atem asked, feeling a little insulted.

"You! That look on your face is priceless! I wish I had something to hold this moment forever!" The smaller Prince continued to laugh. He was laughing so hard that he never saw the smirk form on Atem's face.

"Oh, really?" At that moment, as Yugi continued to laugh and was caught off guard, Atem tackled his small fiancé to the soft, thick, pillow-like bed of Yugi's room. When said Prince came to his senses, the next thing he knew, they were both lying on top of his bed, with Atem on top of him.

"Hey, what was that for?"

"Sorry, you're just so pretty that I could not resist." Atem answered in a low, husky choice that made Yugi blush. Seeing this, Atem smirked and decide to take advantage of the situation. He gently placed his lips upon Yugi's soft, silky lips. Yugi's eyes widened in surprise.

"Mmm!" He tried to cry out, trying to get Atem to stop, but the sound was muffled. However, Atem took that opportunity to slip his tongue into Yugi's sweet mouth. Once again, Yugi panicked. "MMM!" Atem responded by moving his hand up Yugi's kimono top. Fortunately, Atem found a sensitive spot and Yugi began to relax. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of Atem massaging his side, and the taste of the older's tongue in his mouth. He remembered the way Atem tasted when they first kissed. This time was even more delightful with his fiancé's hand caressing one of his soft spots.

Then suddenly, Atem's control began to slip. His other hand slipped up the bottom of Yugi's kimono, which gave the Egyptian teen access to the Japanese teen's inner thigh. Atem moaned at feeling the warm flesh under his hand. It was so soft … Atem was amazed! He had never felt skin this soft, not even on a girl!

"Mmm!" Yugi began to panic again when he felt a hand on his thigh. He tried to send the message of 'stop' to Atem by moving his legs, but Atem's hand just moved along with it. Yugi squirmed again as Atem's mouth moved to his neck. He tried to vocally respond, he really did, but for some reason, his voice would not work.

Atem was in a world of bliss. Yugi's neck was just as sweet as his mouth. He was so soft and tender. It felt good to feel skin that had never been touched before. He just could not get enough. However, Yugi was scared. He had never been touched right there before. Suddenly, his panic grew when he realized that Atem had untied his kimono and was now caressing his chest. Atem ground his hips into the smaller Prince. Yugi did not know what to do. All he could think of was how scared he was at that moment. Atem was now starting to unfasten the lower part of Yugi's kimono, the only protection he had against the stronger teenager. Only one reaction came to his mind.

"Stop or I'll kick you again!" Atem's eyes widened when he heard that threat. He remembered being kicked in the gut by Yugi once, the kid had a good kick, and it was not an experience Atem wanted to feel again. So he immediately ceased his actions. When he saw what had been going on, He gasped. Yugi was under him, panting and looking at him with large, fear-filled eyes... He was also half naked. Atem could not believe that he had lost so much control.

"… Yugi … I'm … I'm …" Yugi gently pushed Atem off of him and proceeded to get dressed.

"It's okay, I'm fine." He was quite shaky as he got dressed.

"Yugi … I'm so sorry … I didn't know"---

"--- It's fine, Atem. Just … Please try to control yourself from now on." Atem lowered his gaze, ashamed to look at the beautiful Prince at that moment, and nodded. Once Yugi was ready, his face held a look that seemed as if the incident never happened. "Okay, let's head to the throne room and meet our dads." Atem was worried about this reaction. It was not healthy.

"Are you alright?" Yugi smiled a big smile, but Atem could see right through it. He decided not to say anything about it, though.

"I'm fine. Now, come on or we're going to be late." Yugi took Atem's hand and guided him to the throne room.

---

Once in the throne room, Komatsu and Aknonkanon were chatting to one another. Atem felt Yugi quiver under Komatsu's glare. As much as Atem hated the Japanese Emperor, he hated him even more for scaring Yugi. Komatsu stepped towards his son and with each step he took, Atem felt Yugi's shaking increase. Yugi suddenly fell to his knees and bowed to his father. Atem raised a brow, but then remembered that that bowing was the Japanese way to show respect. So he joined Yugi on the floor.

"I hear that you were actually able to behave yourself. I find that quite impressive." Yugi did not respond. Atem, however, wanted to tell the fat Emperor to stop belittling Yugi. But then he looked toward his own father, who shook his head, so Atem did nothing. "My good friend here has told me that Prince Atem has scared you a few times." Atem snuck a glare at his father, not believing that his own parent had told the other ruler about that. Yugi, however still did not look up.

"A-actually, F-father, I"---

"You pathetic little worm!" Both Atem and Aknonkanon looked at Komatsu. Aknonkanon told Komatsu about the incident so that he could watch Atem carefully, but Komatsu had taken the information as material to insult his son once again. "You are worthless! You could not even give Prince Atem what he wanted in his own home?!" Yugi flinched. His father was right … he should have given Atem what he wanted since he was in Atem's home. "I told you to do everything that you were told, including giving yourself way if you had to!" To Atem and Aknonkanon's horror, Komatsu took his son's chin and harshly slapped him across the face. Atem stared, jaw dropped, at what had just happened. This was something new to him. His own father had never laid a hand on him, and he was shocked to see Komatsu do it to Yugi. Yugi raised a hand to touch his, now red, cheek and tried to hold back his tears. Crying was unacceptable around his Father. He knew that his father hated crying. However, he was not doing a very good job.

"I-I'm s-sorry … F-father …" Atem could hardly believe it. Yugi did nothing to have to apologize to this disgusting, over-weight man! "Please forgive m-me … Father …"

"Do you deserve forgiveness?!" Yugi had tears streaming down his cheeks now. He bowed his head so that his father would not see.

"No, s-sir …" He sounded as if he had recited this scenario many times before, as if it were drilled into his head.

"Then what do you deserve?!"

" … … P-punishment …" Komatsu raised his hand to strike Yugi yet again. Both Princes were horrified. Atem was going to protect Yugi at any cause, but Komatsu was stopped by a tan hand on his wrist. Atem, Yugi, and Komatsu looked to see that Aknonkanon had stopped the Emperor from hurting his son any further.

"My friend, why don't we talk about this over a cup of tea?" Komatsu glared at Yugi, who quickly lowered his head to the floor. He finally agreed. So both rulers exited the room. Before he left, Aknonkanon looked at his own son. Atem nodded his thanks to his father. Once both rulers had left the room, Atem stood up but soon realized that Yugi had yet to follow.

"Yugi?" Yugi did not answer. He did not even raise his head. "Yugi? Are you alright?" Atem noticed that Yugi was severely shaking. "Yugi …" Atem rested a hand on Yugi's shoulder. When the youngest Japanese Prince felt the contact, he quickly looked up at Atem with horrified eyes. Atem was concerned at how much fear his fiancé was feeling. He could see so much hurt in those beautiful eyes. He felt as if he were about to cry himself. Yugi seemed to be in some sort of trance that he could not get out of. "It's alright … it's just me …" Yugi threw himself into the safety of Atem's arms. "Shh … it's alright. I'm here now." He soothed, rubbing the younger's back. Yugi silently cried to himself. Suddenly, Atem had an idea.

"Come on, I think I know of someone who will make you feel better."

---

Atem remembered Yugi mentioning that his mother was a concubine in his father's harem. So, figuring that the harem would be someplace close to Komatsu's chambers, he led Yugi to see his mother. Once Yugi knew where he was, he immediately spotted his mother.

"Mom!" Hearing the sweet voice of her son, Yugi's mother turned and her eyes lit up when she saw him.

"Yugi!" Both mother and son ran to hug each other. "Oh, Yugi, I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, Mom." Yugi's mother took her son's face and gazed into his eyes.

"You've grown." Yugi scoffed.

"I doubt that, Mom."

"Don't you sass me!" Yugi laughed again and hugged her a second time. Just then, they heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. Yugi and his mother looked over from where the sound came from. Atem stood there, giving Yugi a 'remember me?' look.

"Oh, mom," Yugi walked over to Atem's side, " this is my fiancé, Atem." Atem waved nervously at his future mother-in-law. She walked over and gave Atem just as tight of a hug as she did her own son. Atem looked at Yugi with wide eyes. The smaller Prince just shrugged.

"Um … it's nice to meet you … Ma'am …"

"It's nice to meet you too. Now, you're going to take care of my precious son, won't you?"

"O-of c-course; I would never hurt Yugi." Yugi's mother smiled.

"That's good to know. My little baby needs someone to love and protect him." Yugi's cheeks began to heat up.

"Mother!" Atem laughed.

"Well, don't just stand there, let's have a cup of tea!" Yugi's mother said, jestering the boys to her room. Yugi immediately took a seat on the pillow on the floor-level table. Atem, however, fount this a little strange. But he took a moment to remember that they were in Japan now, so he followed his fiancé's lead. He hit his knee on the edge of the table, making Yugi giggle. The youngest Japanese Prince's mother came back with a small pot of tea. Two small cups were on the table. Yugi's mother skillfully poured the tea into the cups. Atem mimicked Yugi's actions by taking the cup with both hands and bringing it to his mouth to take a small sip. Unfortunately, for Atem, he took too big of a sip and the tea was too hot.

"Ow, hot! Hot!" He dropped the cup of tea, spilling the hot liquid all over his lap. "AH! HOT! OW, HOT!!" HE stood up, trying to stop the stinging in his lap. Yugi stood up in surprised when Atem started yelling.

"Mom, I think Atem isn't used to tea. He's used to wine." Yugi's mother gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Oh, dear, I'm so sorry!" Atem continued to brush his lap.

"It's alright … the pain isn't …" Atem cringed, "… too bad …!"

"Come, let's get you some dry clothes." Atem halted the brushing of his lap when he heard this It was bad enough that he had to wear what he was currently wearing, but to have another outfit humiliate him, mostly in front of Seto, was out of the question.

"Um … no, that's fine …" Yugi's mother waved him off.

"Nonsense; you'll catch a cold! You need new clothes!" Yugi's mother escorted Atem over to another room to get a change of clothes. Yugi smiled and rolled his eyes at his mother's uncontrollable maternal instincts.

---

_End of Chapter_


	6. The First Night

_Hello, all and welcome to the next chapter of "_The Union_". Okay, remember when I announced that I wanted to create a supernatural story? Well, all your ideas were good, but I wanted to take a different rout. So, here are a couple of ideas I came up with. Vote, and the most popular one will be written:_

_**Image in the Mirror: Yugi knows of the demonic presence around him. He sees it every time he looks in the mirror. This presence wants to Yugi's body in every way possible. But Yugi is afraid of being trapped in the mirror. Can he get this demon exorcised, or will it end up controlling him?**_

_**My Faerie Friend: Yugi is miserable in Domino. Atem flaunts around and acts as if Yugi is only a speck on the wall. When Yugi receives a phone call from his mother in Ireland, she offers a way for him to leave this behind. However, Yugi witnesses a ritual that was not supposed to be seen by human eyes and is turned into a tiny sprite. Now Yugi needs Atem's help more than ever if he ever wants to turn back into a human.**_

_**The Spider Side of Life: The Queen of the Spider-people is out looking for her next servant. She spots the beautiful boy, Yugi. She wants to make him a part of her world so that she can have him for herself. But she can sense magic all around him, so the Queen enters Yugi's life and bites him, slowly turning him into one of her people. Now she can take him ... but what will his older look-alike do to reverse the curse?**_

_Okay, so there are the three stories I've come up with. I've tried to think up some more, but I'm getting washed out on ideas. So, pick whichever one sounds the best to you and I'll start writing it. Oh, I keep forgetting to mention this. Yugi's father, Komatsu, was a real guy. I did research on Japanese Emporers around the time of a Pharaoh named Aten and that's the name that came the closest. Just thought you'd like to know that I didn't just pull it out of my ass. His brothers, I did._

_Also, I received a request for "_Virus_", so that's my next project. It'll be good; you won't see it coming! Well, maybe, but I bet you'll still be surprised! Okay, as far as activity goes, I've begun working on "_Virus_", but it may be about a week before it's finished. Don't worry, I have two weeks off from school, so I'll be working on it. Okay, let's get to the real reason why you're here and let you read!_

---

Later that evening at dinner, Seto was having a hard time trying not to laugh at Atem's outfit with all the flower designs on it, and watching him try to figure out how to use the chopsticks. Yugi had a little trouble at first, for being out of practice, but quickly remembered how to hold them. Aknonkanon was quite the master with the chopsticks as well. The three older Japanese Princes, Yugi's older brothers, were engaging in conversation with each other. Komatsu had Yugi's mother in his lap, feeding him his food. Yugi hated to see his mother give into his father like that, but his mother told him that she had a duty to perform, and she did not care. Nevertheless, it was still a little disgusting for the youngest prince to watch.

Seto watched as the other priests talked amongst themselves. He just looked at the sushi on his plate. He hated that dish; just looking at it made his stomach jump. Every time they visited Japan, their main course on the first night was always sushi. Seto began to play with the fish on his plate. He thought about how funny it would be when Atem realized that the fish was raw. The Egyptian Prince had never been to Japan before, so he had never sampled the delicacy.

"No, you're holding them all wrong." He heard a soft voice say. Seto looked up to see Atem staring confusingly at one stick in each hand. He obviously did not understand a thing that Yugi was coaching to him. '_Oh, this is priceless._' The youngest priest thought with a snicker. "Here, like this." Seto wished he had something to capture this moment so that he could remember it forever. Even after Yugi had personally placed the Egyptian Prince's fingers in the proper places, Atem had trouble keeping the food in between the two sticks.

Atem heard a small snicker pass through Seto's lips. He glared at him questioningly.

"What?!" He snapped. Seto shrugged and held his hands up.

"Nothing, just observing the game master and his new rivals … the victorious sticks!" Atem cursed at him in Egyptian under his breath. But apparently not low enough so that his father would not hear.

"Atem, watch your language!" His father snapped. The red-eyed Prince decided to drop the subject and try the foreign food in front of him. Well, it was foreign to him. Since he could not figure out how to hold the chopsticks, he could not eat. His glanced at his father, asking for permission to use his fingers but the Pharaoh slowly shook his head. It might have been acceptable if Atem were still a child, but he was an adult now and royal adults did not eat with their fingers. Atem sighed. He looked at Yugi, who was devouring the dish so fast that he was already on his third plate. He must have really missed the food of his homeland. Looking at his food again, Atem took one of the sticks and stabbed the food on his plate. The Prince sniffed the unique dish before slowly placing it in his mouth, but he quickly spat it out. He knew it was fish, but was cold and wet … as if it had not been cooked! Everyone else around the table looked at him in surprise. Immediately thinking this was some sort of practical joke, Atem stood up, holding up a piece of the cold food.

"Hey, cook! Very funny! This fish is **RAW**! Joke's on me, huh?!" He angrily yelled. Aknonkanon hid his face behind his hand in embarrassment. This truly was an embarrassing moment; he had hoped he had raised his son to act better than this.

"Ra, save me …" He mumbled in Egyptian. Yugi grabbed Atem's arm and yanked him down.

"Of course it's raw; it's sushi! It's supposed to be raw!" Atem raised a brow and scrunched up his nose. How could these people eat raw food? He knew there was a reason he never liked this place … besides the cold.

"You serious?!" Yugi nodded. After a few seconds, his brothers laughed loudly. Yugi's immediate reaction was to shut down. He sat so still, as if he were a statue, and looked at the table with his hands in his lap. His chin began to quiver a little bit. Atem was about to ask what the problem was when one of the other Japanese Princes spoke first.

"Yugi was never really smart, but it seems his stupidity spread to Egypt!" Chikachi said. The three brothers laughed even harder.

"Yeah, it's contagious, just like Yugi himself!" Toshio replied. They all continued to laugh. Yugi's mother scowled at them, but there was really nothing she could do in the presence of the emperor, no matter how much she wanted to protect her precious son.

Atem could practically feel the shame radiating off of Yugi; the lost look in his beautiful eyes, and his chin continuing to quiver as he prepared to cry. Prince Atem was about to try and comfort his small fiancé when Yugi jumped up and bolted out of the room as quickly as his short, thin legs could take him. Only once Yugi was gone did Atem realize his mistake. He had embarrassed the smallest Prince in front of the family that constantly ridiculed him. Atem knew how much Yugi wanted his brothers and father to accept him. It only took less than one night for the Egyptian Prince to ruin everything Yugi had worked so hard to do for his entire life, no matter how little of an effect there was.

"What a wimp!" Norito commented. As the three elder Japanese Princes continued to laugh at their much younger half-brother, Atem glanced at Yugi's mother. She was looking toward the way Yugi ran out, crying. It must have been hard to see her one and only son suffer through so much pain and humiliation. As Atem pondered his thoughts, the obnoxious sounds of laughter went on. He clenched his teeth. He had had enough of sucking up to this horrible excuse for a family. He quickly stood and slammed his fists down on the table, causing the dishes to bounce a bit. It was only then did the laughter stop.

"You three should be ashamed of yourselves!" Said three princes gazed at the Egyptian Prince with surprised gazes. "How could you treat someone as sweet and as strong as Yugi like that?!" Atem was answered by a snort from Chikachi.

"He's not strong. If he were, then he would have completed his samurai training." Atem's blood was boiling his veins. He had a bad temper problem, but it seemed that when it came to Yugi and his desire to protect him, his control over his short fuse vanished all together.

"He's strong for surviving eleven years of ridicule from babbling idiots like you! Not many people can take that much abuse! If I were you, I'd be grateful to have a brother like Yugi! From what I've observed, he is the smartest and the most proper, and has the best sense of hygiene, out of all of you!" The three looked at each other. They had never been insulted like that before. Had their father not been there, Norito and Toshio probably would have attacked him. The oldest stood up

"We have each other; we don't need him. He can go kill himself for all care." Chikachi answered. Atem smirked.

"Then it's a good thing I'll be taking him away from this … frozen hell and to a warm paradise where he'll be happy for the rest of eternity." He said smoothly. He threw his napkin onto the table and stormed out through the direction that Yugi had taken earlier. Yugi's mother smiled. Finally, someone was standing up for her son; and at that moment, she knew that he was going to be alright. The three princes seemed to be dumbfounded and at a loss of words. A chuckle came from their father.

"My, my, your son certainly has a warrior's spirit." Komatsu mentioned. Aknonkanon nodded, never taking his eyes away from where the two had left.

"Father, are you going to let him get away with talking to us like that?!" Norito asked. His tone indicated that he was expecting to go and beat Atem to a bloody pulp and Yugi too if he saw him. But instead, the Emperor just shrugged.

"He is our guest."

---

Atem headed towards the indoor garden that Yugi had told him about. He of course, had to ask where it was; but when he found it, he found Yugi watering the flowers. There were so many plants that Atem had never seen before. Small ones, large ones, and ones floating on water. There were also so many aromas going through the garden. They all mixed together and smelled so wonderful. Atem actually felt himself relax for a second before his thoughts returned to the original reason he had come to this place.

Yugi was so beautiful in his eyes, being around these flowers just added to his beauty. He seemed to be at peace, but when he turned around Atem could see that his eyes were red and puffy. His poor little fiancé had been crying. That fact alone tore at the Egyptian Prince's heart. Yugi should never cry; he should be happy and smiling that beautiful smile all the time. The scene was so peaceful that Atem did not want to disturb it. However, nature had other plans.

"Ah-CHOO!" Due to all the pollen floating in the enclosed room, Atem's normally dormant allergies, that he really had no idea of, made him sneeze. Yugi turned to see his fiancé standing in the doorway, trying to hold back another sneeze. "Oops … I didn't mean to disturb you." He said with his voice sounding a bit congested. Yugi smiled and shook his head, continuing his work in the garden.

"No, it's okay. I just came here to get away from … them." Yugi made a jester to the entrance at the word '_them_'. Atem entered the garden. Pedals of all colors and sizes were floating everywhere … or at least when he thought were pedals. He asked his next question as soon as he was by Yugi's side.

"What are those things flying around in here?"

"They're butterflies. You've never seen butterflies before?" Yugi could not imagine never seeing butterflies. They were so friendly and he liked to consider them his friends; friends that would never judge or ridicule him.

"No, we don't have them in Egypt." At hearing that, Yugi's spirits dampened a little bit. He would miss the butterflies, but he knew that he would see them again. One butterfly with blue and black wings landed on Atem's crown while another flew into his face and landed on his nose. Atem swatted, trying to get the little insect out of his face, but it flew away too quickly and he ended up smacking himself in the face. Yugi laughed at this.

"They like you!" Atem covered his hair, fearing that one might fly into it and get stuck. Yugi looked at the butterflies, letting one land on his small, pale hand.

"So, why did you come here?" Atem asked, trying to shoo the butterflies out of his face. Yugi brought the butterfly on his hand up to his face, examining the way its little antennae moved when its wings would softly twitch.

"This is my sanctuary; a place I know that my father and brothers would never enter." Atem tilted his head in confusion. He was about to say something when Yugi continued. Why did no one let him speak? "My mother started this garden before I was born. As I got older, she let me plant some flowers of my own. I quickly found that I could come in here and when my family would tease me, I'd run in here and they would never come in." Yugi looked around at the garden he had helped create and smiled. "She's done a good job while I was away." The Egyptian stepped closer to Yugi.

"That's why you were always in my garden at home." Yugi nodded. The garden was where he truly felt safe. "Yugi, I'm really sorry." Yugi sprinkled water onto another plant.

"Why? You didn't do anything."

"Well, yes, but … that's just so sad …" Yugi watered another plant. For the first time in a while, Yugi heard Sornichi singing from a branch of a tree. He smiled.

"Sometimes, it's not so bad when I hear Sornichi sing me a song." The two princes listened to the tiny bird sing her son for a little while longer. Atem looked at Yugi as Sornichi sang. He looked so relaxed.

---

Later that night, Atem had fallen victim to his insomnia once again. He got up from Yugi's bed and took his own tour of the Japanese Palace while everyone was asleep. As much as he wanted to stay in bed and hold Yugi, he felt that he could think better if he was moving. He found himself in the palace kitchen, which was fine, since he was thirsty. He poured himself some tea; cold tea, of course. He took a sip and found that he liked this tea better, although he still preferred wine over it. The Egyptian walked outside onto a balcony and listened to the crickets chirp. It was certainly better than hearing the buzzing of locusts. He looked up at the moon and sighed in contempt. The light from the moon illuminated the courtyard. This place was so open to nature. He liked the way the palace looked at night … even if it was colder. Just as Atem was about to take another sip of his tea, he heard footsteps behind him and turned to see who it was. He was expecting Seto again but was surprised to see that it was Yugi's oldest brother, Chikachi.

"What are you doing here?" The Japanese heir to the throne asked with a rude tone. Atem glared at him.

"I could ask you the same question." Chikachi smirked.

"I live here; I can go anywhere I please." Atem rolled his eyes. He watched as Chikachi poured tea into a small cup. The way he moved, Atem could have sward that he was being seduced. He had to admit that Chikachi was not bad to look at. He and his brothers were all very attractive; they were muscular, built, and had those exotic Asian features that he loved on Yugi. The next Japanese Emperor brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. Atem had a full view of his chest. It was well built and his skin was smooth; very different from Yugi.

"So, how was my dear baby brother in bed?" Chikachi asked with a smirk. Atem glared again, but he could not take his mind off of the fact that this man was just as good looking as she was. Well, maybe not as good looking, but a pretty close second. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat. As was challenged to him, Atem had not had sex in over a month, and he was beginning to have withdrawals. But no, he had to think of Yugi; he **would **be faithful to Yugi even if it killed him.

"I believe that is none of your business." Chikachi's smirk widened.

"Well," he took a step closer to Atem, "maybe we should compare." Atem knew he should have taken a step back, should have told him to shove it; knew he should have gone back to Yugi's room but his desire and withdrawals were getting to him.

"What are you"--- Atem was cut off by a pair of dominating lips on his. After rearranging his posture, Atem, under sheer reflex, responded to the kiss. Atem felt hands cup the cheeks of his ass. As a response, and a way to challenge the other prince for dominance, he cupped Chikachi's testicles to tease him. Chikachi groaned. Atem was getting lost his needs.

Yugi did enter his mind, but only for a split second. He calculated on how he could get a quick lay from this guy and make it back to Yugi's room before the youngest prince woke up. Yes, that was what he would do. And Yugi would never know. But before he knew what was going on, Chikachi was leading Atem back to his own room, their tongues still in each other's mouths.

---

About an hour later, nature called and Yugi woke up. However, when he did, he saw that he was alone.

"Atem?" He looked around and did not see him. Sornichi was perched on a bar in her cage, asleep. Well, Yugi needed to go, so he had to get up anyway. He would look for his fiancé after that.

Once Yugi had finished his business, he looked around the palace to see if he could find where Atem had gone. Even though the palace was huge, Yugi had been raised there and knew every crook and crane. So it did not take him long to get around. He searched the throne room, the prayer room, the meeting room, the main hall, the shrines, and the kitchen and dining rooms. He also checked his father's harem and chambers.

"That's strange …" As Yugi walked out of his father's chambers, he heard some kind of bumping sound. "What was that?" He asked himself. Curiously, he followed the sound to see where it was coming from. "It's coming from Chikachi's room. What is he doing, moving furniture?" Yugi, being the kind hearted person that he is, wanted to make sure his brother was alright. Even if Chikachi had no respect for Yugi, they were still brothers and still family.

"Chikachi, are you okay?" The only answer he received was a noise that sounded a lot like a groan. Carefully and slowly, Yugi tapped lightly on the door. "Chikachi?" When no answer came, he opened the door and gasped in horror at what he saw.

---

_End of Chapter_

_**Preview for next chapter**: Yugi saw something he should not have. Can he find the strength to go on?_


	7. Yugi's Pain

_I can't believe none of you like Percy Jackson! **THAT WAS THE GREATEST MOVIE MADE THIS YEAR!** I just got back from seeing it (and while it's still not as good as the book) it's soooooooooooo gooood! Trust me, if you don't know a thing about Greek Mythology, you will by the time you're done with this movie/book. This has now become my favorite movie! It's so much better than that Twilight shit you people are all gaga over. While you were getting into that, I was perfecting Percy! GO SEE THE MOVIE! Make it make money so that it can make a second movie! (the best book in the series._

_I've actually been inspired to write a story just like that ... only with Yugi. See the movie, place Yugi in Percy's role, and then you'll know what I'm talking about. Okay, now that I've got that out of my system, I'm going to go brag about it on DeviantArt._

_On another note, some of the ideas in this chapter were given by kuan5555. Thank you for helping me with this new chapter. I dedicate it to you._

* * *

Atem pushed the larger body off of him, panting like crazy. It felt so good to have an orgasm again. It had been so long that he had almost forgotten how good they felt. As his body began to cool down the situation that the Egyptian Prince found himself in was one he mentally cursed himself for. He was so weak that he could not even resist his own urges. Seto was going to have a field day with this.

"Damn … I lost …" He whispered to himself, rubbing his hand over his eyes.

Chikashi forcefully grabbed his latest bed-mate's chin and clashed his lips to the Egyptian's own in a rough, bruising kiss. Atem froze on the spot, resisting the urge to return the kiss, but the battle with the sexual urge was easily won over. However, his crimson eyes widened in horror when he heard a gasp coming from the doorway; Yugi, the one he learned to love, was there witnessing the whole scene. Those large, crystalline amethyst eyes sparkled with unshed tears. The betrayal, heartbreak and disgust written all over the little one's face was just too much for the Egyptian to bear. It was at that moment that the smallest prince took off in a sprint away from the room.

Yugi did not know where his legs were taking him, but he heard himself slam a door closed. The smallest prince found that he could no longer fight back his sorrow and slid to the floor, landing on his knees and crying his heart out. The echoes could not even reflect the deepness of the sorrow at the betrayal he had learned. Why did Atem betray him like this? How could he do such act within Yugi's home? He could not understand and continued to sob loudly until someone different called his name.

"Yugi?" Yugi looked up to see his mother's worried face. The woman knelt down next to her son and took him in her arms while he cried. "Baby, what's wrong?" Yugi continued to sob into his mother's form before he finally regained his speech.

"Oh, Mother! Atem has done something terrible!" He felt his mother's grip tighten around his body. With a comforting pat on his back, Yugi's mother stood up and began escorting her son into her room.

"There, there, baby … tell me everything over a cup of tea."

* * *

Atem tried to get out of the bed he was currently trapped in. That is, until Chikashi jumped on top of him once again. The pale one laughed evilly as he held Atem prisoner.

"Where do you think you're going?" Atem rolled his eyes. After seeing the pure pain in Yugi's eyes, he felt disgusted with the idea of this man naked in the same bed as he.

"Well, I was going to run after your brother and save our relationship." Atem replied in a bit of a sarcastic tone. He made an attempt to get up, but Chikashi pushed him down onto the bed again.

"What's your rush?" The oldest prince whispered seductivly before forcing another kiss onto his Egyptian counter-part. Atem tried to resist, but, once again, his penis spoke for him as it hardened in response to the desirable touching. The exotic foreign prince melted into Chikashi's seduction one more time as their tongues battled for dominance. Not even seeming to care, Atem was drowning in the euphoria of sex once again … that is, until he felt something big, hard, and hot enter him for the upteenth time. His ruby eyes widened and he quickly sat up. He held out a hand, signalling that he had had enough.

"WHOA, WHOA, **WHOA**! Six times—both ways—in one night is plenty!" Chikashi pounced on top of Atem one more time.

"I'm not done with you yet." That hard penis entered Atem's sore backside once again. This time, however, he was coherent and angered. The adrenaline that powered that anger gave Atem the strength to push the oldest Japanese prince off of his body ... and his own bed, earning Atem a confused look. Atem stood up, the morning sunlight glistening his naked glory. But the anger in Atem's eyes told Chikashi he was not to move. The Egyptian Prince pointed at the other prince.

"You make me sick! You ruined everything I had, and I can't believe I let this happen—with you of all people!" He quickly grabbed his shanti, wrapped it around his waist and stomped down the hall, calling Yugi's name in hopes that the little one could forgive him.

But that was not to be. Instead of wasting what little energy he had left—and to relieve the pain in his rear—Atem went back to Yugi's room to try and get a little bit of sleep, but when he opened the door, there stood the last thing in the world he wanted to see, Seto. To say that Atem was surprised would have been an understatement, but he was not about to let his former lover see that reaction.

As Atem entered the room, the youngest priest just stood there, glaring at his prince with his arms folded. Atem walked toward the bed, having Seto's gaze follow him everywhere he went. Feeing those icy irises on his skin, Atem decided to play a little game.

He purposely reached his arms up and bent upward, letting his shoulder blades and vertebras move along the bronze skin on top of them. After a few seconds, the younger of the two looked to see that Seto had yet to move so much as a muscle from when Atem had first stepped into the room. When he saw that his first tease did not work, Atem then leaned on top of the end table and pretended to stretch again, letting his toned chest and abs do what they did so well—seduce anyone who looked at them. Still, Atem received no reaction from the priest. He then ran a hand through his hair, letting the shine bounce with sunlight. Still no reaction. The Egyptian prince grunted in frustration.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Expecting a war of words, all Seto did was continue to glare until he decided to end the silence.

"How. Dare. You." Atem was taken aback. Of all the things he had expected Seto to say, that simple set of words was not one of them.

"Uh … what?" Seto's glare intensified.

"Are you really so pathetic that you couldn't even resist a single look?!" This dumbfounded the prince. Atem stood in front of his former lover who was staring at him with an unreadable expression on his face.

"What in the world are you talking about?!" Atem asked, more confused than ever. Seto closed his eyes and smirked.

"Let me put it this way: _I know where you were last night and I know what you did_." The taller said in a low, dangerous voice. Atem's eyes widened as realization finally hit him. Seto know. Did that mean that everyone knew? That bastard, Chikashi, must have been bragging about it.

"H-how-how-w-wh-what-how-how-h-h-how-how?"

"I can only answer one question at a time." Atem inhaled deeply to catch his breath.

"How did you find out?" Seto's eyes narrowed.

"The heartbroken look on Yugi's face when he passed by me in the hall this morning was too terrible to miss."

Atem covered his hands with his face and plopped himself down on Yugi's bed. He could not believe the way things were turning out; although if he had been thinking clearly, he would have seen that he had this coming.

"What were you thinking, Atem?!"

"That's just it: I wasn't thinking! I just did what came natural." Seto let out an angered sigh and shook his head.

"You mean what came natural to your penis!" Atem hung his head in shame. He began to repeat the question of how could he do such a thing to Yugi in his head. "You really blew; and this time, I don't think I can help get you out of it; it's that bad." Atem gazed at Seto through his fingers before suddenly standing up in front of the other male.

"What are you pissed off about anyway, huh? You won the bet!" He pointed out. Atem had been expecting something from Seto. He was not sure what, but he was expecting something. However, Seto made no move, but quietly said,

"This is not the way I wanted to win." The priest then walked away. The soft tone that Seto had just used on his last statement showed Atem that underneath it all Seto never really wanted to win. Feeing even worse about himself, the Egyptian prince buried himself under the luxurious blankets of Yugi's bed.

* * *

"He is not marrying that monster!"

"He is, and that is final!" Yugi sat in the corner of the throne room with his head bowed as he watched his parents argue with each other. After he had told his mother what Atem had done, it had taken every ounce of Yugi's strength to keep her from killing his fiancé. Although he was angry and hurt at what Atem did, he just did not have the heart to condem the other prince to death.

"I am not letting my baby boy be tied to a traitor for all eternity!" Komatsu smirked.

"Well guess what: you don't have any say in the matter." No one saw the action that came next. Yugi's mother slapped Komatsu across the face so hard that it left a clear, red handprint on his pale white skin. Everyone else in the room, Aknonkanon, Yugi, his brothers, and the priests all gasped. No one was allowed to touch the Emperor in such a way, especially not one of his concubines. Yugi always knew that his mother was a tough woman, but this showed him just how tough she could really be.

"I gave him life so that means that I have **EVERY** say in the matter!" Komatsu gave a small, amused chuckle. Yugi could see that his father was holding back his rage. Even Komatsu was not stupid enough to poke a mother bear when it came to her cub.

"Well, I would hate to have my old friend come all this way for nothing, so the wedding is still on!"

"No!"

"**NO**!" Yugi screamed. All of a sudden, the youngest prince shot out of his spot in the corner and quickly sprinted out of the room. Everyone was astonished at the act that the little one had just taken. Not only did he just speak in his father's presence without being told to, but he ran away, something Yugi knew never to do.

"GET BACK HERE, YOUNG MAN OR I'LL--!"

Yugi could hear his father's threats of beatings and '_making sure he would never growing up to be a real man,_'—whatever that meant—as he dashed out of the room, but the boy refused to stop. He knew that if he stopped, if he even turned around, that his father's death glare would control his movements and he would once again be held the statue that his father thought him to be. No, he not this time; this time, he would not stop. He had to get out of there. Not just out of the room, but out of the palace all together. He may not survive very long out there among the normal people of Japan, but it was better than being beaten to a bloody pulp by his father, and definitely better than being married to Atem.

Yugi was just starting to think that perhaps the two of them could make something out of their forced marriage, but after the betrayal that he had just witnessed, he never wanted to see that man ever again.

The Japanese Prince did not know where he was running to, but soon his feet reached the main gates of the palace. The guards tried to stop him, but the boy slid underneath their crossed spears and dashed into the nearby woods. Faster and faster he ran, not knowing or caring where to go. All he knew was that he needed to get away. Away from his father; away from the torture; away from the pain; away from Atem. It felt as if a small fire had been burning inside Yugi's heart for the longest time. It had been growing and growing since he was at least ten years old. Over the years, Yugi was able to control the growing inferno deep within him, but when he saw Atem under his oldest brother, enjoying what was being done to him, that control broke and the fire began to engulf his entire heart. The pain went so deep that Yugi never knew if he would be able to feel anything else ever again.

Suddenly, the boy tripped over a raised tree root and tumbled onto his face. When he regained the strength to pick himself up, he curled over, ejecting his breakfast from earlier. The pain of throwing up bile was starting to hurt, but it was nothing compared to his inner pain. Just thinking about the scene from earlier made him throw up even more. Finally, when there was nothing left to leave his stomach, Yugi stood on shaky legs. His body shook with the aftershock of his vomiting. Tears were flowing down his face, but he could not tell if they were from vomiting or if he had been crying since he left the palace. Either way, he had to continue his journey. This was his chance to finally get away.

* * *

_To be Continued_ ...


End file.
